Art Museum Demographic Surveys Series

Over the past decade, Ithaka S+R collected data on strategy, leadership, staff demographics, and governance within U.S. art museums. In partnership with the Mellon Foundation, the Kress Foundation, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), as well as the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and the Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums (BTA), Ithaka S+R conducted three studies:

The Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey, conducted in 2015, 2018, and 2022, tracks changes in museum staff characteristics over time, shedding light on representational diversity within art museums.

The Art Museum Director Survey, fielded in 2020 and 2022, captures shifts in directors' perspectives on revenue, staffing, programming partnerships, and climate change since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Art Museum Black Trustee Survey, conducted in 2022, explores the experiences of Black trustees in North American art museums, aiming to increase the inclusion of Black perspectives and narratives in museum spaces.