For Immediate Release

ARLINGTON, VA and New York, NY—The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, and Museum Hue, an organization that has become a force in their advocacy for people of color in the museum field, today unveiled a strategic partnership focused on racial equity in the field.

The AAM-Museum Hue partnership recognizes that the greatest chance the museum field has of increasing racial equity requires a combination of diverse methods and tactics. “Museums’ viability and financial sustainability depend largely on their ability to be relevant, magnetic, inclusive, and reflective of our communities,” said Laura Lott, President and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums. “This exciting partnership brings together the strengths of a movement and a long-standing Alliance to create lasting change in the field.”

Museum Hue will receive support from AAM to provide additional services dedicated to museum professionals of color long-term. “Museum Hue’s work complements AAM’s initiative, providing additional approaches to representation, community engagement, and leadership pipelines for future generations of museum professionals of color,” said Stephanie Johnson-Cunningham, Museum Hue Co-Founder and Creative Director. “AAM’s partnership will support our work to transform the museum sector by cultivating the inclusion of people of color and their perspectives throughout cultural institutions.”

 

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AAM’s existing field-wide initiative, Facing Change: Advancing Museum Board Diversity & Inclusion, provides the framework, training, and resources for museum trustees and leaders to build inclusive cultures within their institutions that more accurately reflect the communities they serve. This initiative, launched in January 2019, complimented the hard work and investments being made across the field to diversify the talent pool, programming, and collections of museums, but there still lacked an intersection between these efforts.

 

Museum Hue fills a vital gap by providing resources, programming, and support for current and aspiring museum professionals of color. This collaboration represents an exciting shift in how the museum field currently addresses efforts related to DEAI and racial equity.

 

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

About Museum Hue

Museum Hue is an organization dedicated to providing tools and resources that support people of color, create pathways for parity in the museum field, and improve racial inequity across the sector. They work to promote and elevate people of color’s cultural contributions, artistic practices, and historical narratives. The organization uses its national membership network, community action-based advocacy, and initiatives to serve as a catalyst for transformative change. For more information, visit www.museumhue.com.

 

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Media Contact:

Natanya Khashan
Director, Marketing & Communications
American Alliance of Museums