Important Message from Mark Bessire, Judy and Leonard Lauder Director, On Current Events (June 1, 2020)

PMA Announcement. June 1, 2020

A letter from the director to staff

Dear Colleagues,

As I watch the heartbreaking events of the past several days unfold, I am left to wonder what the museum’s role in a national tragedy should be. The first is to be there for you, our staff, and so I want to be explicit in reiterating how much we support you through this difficult time. If you need anything, please reach out to your supervisor, Maia, or me directly and we can talk. 

The second is considering how our mission can guide us through unsettling, unpredictable, and unprecedented times—something that has become all too familiar to all of us at the PMA. With each wave of challenges, lapping unrelentingly at our feet, I ask you: what is an appropriate course of action for the museum? 

Over the last five years, our commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility have guided our museum. We have adjusted, responded, and leaned into opportunities to create community, encourage conversation, and bring people together through art to better understand the issues of the day, strengthen our bonds, and foster empathy. And yet we continue to be tested by unforeseen challenges like the global health crisis or the recurring and persistent tragedies that have ignited protest across our nation in recent days. 

The more I reflect on the challenges of our time, the more I return to what we do best: our mission to transform lives through the incredible power of art. We have more than 18,000 works in our collection, and that means we have more than 18,000 opportunities to connect the world beyond our walls to the work we do within them. So many of our discussions over these last few years have centered around the phrase “leaning in,” and in moments like these I encourage you to think about how you, and the work of your colleagues, can do just that: lean in through art. What programs can we develop that make an impact and encourage discourse through our collection? How can we connect our exhibitions to what’s happening in our world? What trainings can we develop to be more attuned to what people may be going through? How do we live these values each and every day, building a museum culture that is unmistakably art focused yet irrefutably empathetic and responsive? 

We might not have clear notions of what our impact may be during times like these, but we must create the space and opportunity for impact to happen. 

These are the questions that I ask you to consider, to discuss with your teams and supervisors as we delve into our new strategic plan. We have the tools and the will to be an agent of change and a force for good, and I ask for your partnership in identifying ways that the PMA can lead by being mission focused and authentic to who we are, to the communities we serve, and to the national conversation. It’s times like these when we can bring people together in conversation and our strength is in our solidarity. 

In partnership,

Mark Mark H.C. Bessire 

Judy and Leonard Lauder Director