The National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C. has stopped its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, following an executive order by President Donald Trump to end these programs on Monday.
“The National Gallery of Art has closed its office of belonging and inclusion and removed related language from our website,” a museum spokesman told the New York Times.
The executive order, signed shortly after inauguration on Monday, went so far as to describe DEI initiatives as “illegal and immoral.”
Four years ago, however, following Trump’s first term in office, the NGA rebranded for $820,000 around such initiatives, including redesigning its logo and signs. The museum put forth a new vision and mission statement in 2021 with a “focus on diversity, equity, access and inclusion throughout our work to diversify the stories we tell, the ways in which we tell them, and our staff.”
The effort highlighted a lack of diversity among NGA leadership and curatorial staff, which until that point had been nearly all white. The shift in ideology gave way to new hires, including the NGA’s first curator of African American art and a new chief curator, as well as diversified exhibitions showcasing more women and artists of color.
Now, the institution has removed the phrase “diversity, equity, access and inclusion” from its online mission statement, replacing it with the words “welcoming and accessible.”
Ahead of the presidential election, the museum’s chief diversity, inclusion, and belonging officer resigned last year and the post was never rehired. Two employees still working in the office were reportedly reassigned to vacant positions within the museum.
The NGA was established in 1937 by Congress. As a government institution, it receives almost 80 percent of its operating budget from the federal government.
Last week, as part of the inauguration ceremony, Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife Usha attended a dinner at the museum with cabinet nominees.
Museums and arts organizations are now trying to determine how to respond to the executive order. The Smithsonian Institution, for example, said it has no comment about how its current diversity programming will be impacted or how it will move forward. The American Visionary Art Museum and the National Children’s Museum did not respond to ARTnews before the time of publication.
