Art museums are charities.

If SFMOMA is in a "dire" financial situation, it is because its billionaire trustees won& #39;t give to their own charity.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEdKpHyh331/?igshid=wzdiucb41ssk">https://www.instagram.com/p/CEdKpHy...

Also, that art museums are charities is ***the single most important fact about art museums.***

It is the foundation on which the entire everything about art museums is built.

When directors lay off staff (or reduce pay) at a time such as this, it is partly because they choose not to remind their board$ that they are the stewards of a charity, and to step up.

When board$ allow layoffs, it is *entirely* because they refuse to support their own charity.

The language that boards, directors and clueless-about-all-this media outlets such as the NYT use around the present is chosen to hide these basic, foundational facts.

Art museums are charities.

Layoffs happen because boards won& #39;t support their own charities. It& #39;s that simple.