One of Baltimore’s most popular recent museum exhibits, “Guarding the Art” at the Baltimore Museum of Art, is going national.
The Baltimore Museum of Art and the Phoenix Art Museum announced Tuesday a partnership to develop and implement new editions of this year’s “Guarding the Art” exhibit, in which the art on display was curated by museum staffers who typically guard the art.
For the Baltimore exhibit, which ran from March 27 to July 10, 17 security guards and gallery attendants were asked to choose works from the museum’s permanent collection that were most meaningful to them and then create an exhibit out of their choices.
In the process, the guards got an opportunity to work with museum curators and learn about what goes into mounting the exhibits they protect. Museum goers, meanwhile, got to learn more about the people who guard the art at the museum and what resonates with them.
According to today’s announcement, the Phoenix Art Museum will be the first place after Baltimore where the concept will be implemented, with an exhibit scheduled to open in February 2024.
Following the model developed by the BMA for its exhibit, staffers at the Phoenix museum will work over the next year to curate their own iteration of “Guarding the Art.” The Phoenix exhibit will then be the start of a “national roll-out” of the initiative in museums across the country. The Phoenix exhibit will be sponsored by PNC Bank and the Pearlstone Family Fund.
“Museums around the country were enthralled by what transpired at the Baltimore Museum of Art with Guarding the Art,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington director and CEO of the Phoenix Art Museum, in a statement. “We look forward to bringing this opportunity to our own staff.”
“Guarding the Art” was conceived in 2020 by BMA Trustee Amy Elias to highlight the unique perspectives and reflections of the museum’s security staffers, informed by their hours in the galleries, their interactions with visitors and their own interests and experiences.
It grew out of a conversation Elias had with Asma Naeem, the museum’s Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Chief Curator and currently one of two interim co-directors, about ways to engage with the museum’s security guards, who spend more time with the museum’s collection than anyone else.
The exhibition challenged traditional museum hierarchies and fostered dialogue about who can and should talk about art, while bringing positive national attention to the BMA. It even landed Elias, Naeem and two of the guards, Joan Smith and Kellen Johnson, an appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
“It was always part of my vision to inspire other museums around the country to bring Guarding the Art to their institutions,” Elias said in a statement. “Phoenix is the perfect next step as its leadership embraces a similar philosophy to the BMA in its approach to recognizing and celebrating inclusion, diversity and equity.”
The process for creating the exhibition also allowed for professional development and mentorship opportunities for the guards as they connected with museum staffers across departments as well as with an outside mentor with extensive experience in the field.
“It was incredible to witness the energy in the galleries while this exhibition was open,” Naeem said in a statement. “Privileging new voices among museum staff invigorated our visitors to engage more freely and more confidently with the art. It made the museum more accessible.”
Using resources created by the BMA, the Phoenix Art Museum plans to launch its “Guarding the Art” exhibit with a call for applicants in early 2023.
Following the BMA’s lead, the Phoenix Art Museum will invite security officers and gallery attendants, along with other frontline staff from its visitor services and custodial teams, to apply for the opportunity to collaborate with curatorial, design, education and engagement, conservation and marketing and communications staff as they select objects from the museum’s collection and develop interpretation materials, including a publication.
Participating staffers in Phoenix will receive additional compensation for their time working on the project, as did the guards in Baltimore. In support of the initiative coming to the Phoenix region, PNC Bank has signed on as presenting sponsor for the exhibition, providing resources for the curatorial work, operations, and staff investment specific to the project, the first of its kind in the Phoenix area.
“We are grateful to the BMA for their partnership and for allowing us to play a leadership role in expanding this initiative across the country,” said Mikolajczak, from the Phoenix museum. “We also express our gratitude to PNC Bank, whose early sponsorship of the program…will have a huge impact on our ability to share this exhibition with our community.”
“PNC has a legacy of investing in the arts, and we understand the economic, social and civic impacts of a thriving arts and culture community,” said Cathleen Walker, PNC regional president of Phoenix and Northern Arizona. “With Guarding the Art, Phoenix Art Museum continues to engage our community through dynamic and innovative exhibitions. PNC is proud to help bring this opportunity to Phoenix.”
The expansion of “Guarding the Art” in museums across the country is being funded by the Pearlstone Family Fund, based in Maryland.
The Pearlstone Family Fund was the lead sponsor of the BMA exhibit. Its support will enable the BMA to document the processes used during the project in a written guide that can be referenced by other institutions seeking to launch their own “Guarding the Art” exhibitions. The Pearlstone Family Fund is also funding a project manager at the BMA to provide support to peer institutions as they mount their exhibitions, including during the development of the initiative in Phoenix.
