Art and Inclusion
Visitation (FY22)
From 2015 to 2022, the High increased its Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) participation from 15% in 2015 to 57% in 2020, a 280% increase. Over the last five years, we have averaged 50% in BIPOC audience participation. We have made a conscious effort to ensure that our audience reflects the diverse makeup of Metro Atlanta communities by intentionally presenting diverse exhibitions, increasing community access, establishing and continuing unique partnerships, and developing interesting programming.
Significantly reduced attendance during the pandemic negated our ability to collect a statistically relevant sample. Hence, we consider FY2021 unreportable.
Metro Atlanta Area
High Museum of Art
Education Level (FY22)
National Arts Audiences Data
| High Museum FY22 |
Atlanta, Georgia U.S. Census Bureau |
|
| White | 43% | 37.6% |
| Black/African American | 33% | 51.8% |
| Latino/e and Hispanic | 7% | 4.3% |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 6% | 4.2% |
| Native American or Alaska Native | 0% | 0.2% |
| Multiple Races | 6% | 2.4% |
| Other | 5% | — |
Age of High Museum Visitors (FY22)
Household Income of High Museum Visitors (FY22)
A Quick Note on Visitation
The demographic data contained
on the following pages is collected
in two ways: 1) our visitors self-identify
via touch polls located
throughout the Museum and 2)
mobile phone data is aggregated
via on-site visitation. This data
excludes the nearly 55,000 schoolchildren
who visit the Museum on
an annual basis.
Artworks on View (FY22)
American Art
By Gender
By Race
African Art
By Gender
By Race
Decorative Art
By Gender
By Race
Photography
By Gender
By Race
Folk and Self-Taught Art
By Gender
By Race
Modern and Contemporary Art
By Gender
By Race
European Art
By Gender
By Race
Assumptions
This represents accessioned works only and includes works in special exhibitions and permanent collection gallery rotations.
African works attributed to a group of culture are counted as one unique artist per object.
All works by unidentified artists are counted as male.
These numbers represent artworks on view, not accessioned artists. Some artists had multiple works on view.
Acquisitions
The following historical data shows acquisitions from two perspectives: total number of works purchased and total cost of works purchased. To gain a comprehensive overview of this data, it is important to toggle between both charts. For example, between FY17 and FY19, artists of color represented on average 32% of the funds annually expended to purchase new works. However, during that same time period, those same acquisitions represented on average 52% of the total number of works acquired each year.
Acquisitions by Number
Acquisitions by Dollar Amount
A Quick Note on Acquisitions
In FY2021, pandemic-related financial uncertainty caused us to impose a moratorium on acquisitions. Consequently, we consider FY2021 unreportable.
Exhibitions
From FY11 through FY15, 32% of exhibitions featured woman-identifying or female artists, artists of color, and LGBTQ+ artists. From FY16 through FY2020, we redoubled our efforts, increasing our presentation of exhibitions featuring woman-identifying or female artists, artists of color, and LGBTQ+ artists to 62%, a 94% increase in diverse voices and experiences.
In FY2021, that percentage increased to 67%.
Exhibitions Featuring Woman-Identifying or Female Artists, Artists of Color, and LGBTQ+ Artists
Talent Pipeline
Mellon Undergraduate
Curatorial Fellowship Program
In 2012, the High Museum was named an original partnering institution of the Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship Program. The program increases diversity in the curatorial field by mentoring undergraduate students who have an interest in pursuing curatorial studies. The Mellon program supports a two-year paid fellowship ($20,000 for full two-year fellowship). To date, ten students have been assigned to the High Museum, and several have been hired as High Museum employees in various disciplines within the Museum.
The High is one of six participants in the Mellon Curatorial Program: High Museum of Art, LACMA, MFAH, Art Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Nationally the cohort has introduced 495 students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to museum careers and has successfuly mentored more than 78 students in two-year curatorial fellowships.
Since 2014, the High Museum has introduced museum careers to 90 students from diverse backgrounds through the Mellon Summer academy.
Museum Careers Summer Academy
Concluding the 2021–2022 fellowship year, the MUCF program has since been paused so the High can conduct a thorough evaluation and assessment of program goals and strategies. Still, continuing with the goal of expanding diversity in the museum field, the High Museum sponsored a Museum Careers Summer Academy—providing a special opportunity to learn about curatorial practice, museum education, marketing, registration, and exhibition design to students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in 2022. Inspired by the Mellon Summer Academy, this High-sponsored program was a small student conference for 15 Atlanta-based undergraduates.
AUC Art Collective
Last year, the High joined the Atlanta University Center Collective for the Study of Art History and Curatorial Studies. The collective’s goal is to extend the talent pipeline and further the important work of diversifying the field of curatorial studies with high school students. In partnership with the Early College Programs in Art History and Curatorial Studies at Spelman, the High supports rising junior and senior students of color to pursue undergraduate studies in art history and curatorial studies.
Driskell Prize
Since its inception (2005), the Driskell prize has recognized an early- to midcareer African American scholar or artist whose work makes an original and important contribution to the field of African American art or art history. The endowment for Driskell, which boasts just over a million dollars for the acquisition of African American artwork, has supported the purchase of more than 50 works by African American artists and awarded cumulative gifts of $450,000 to past recipients.
Quick Note: The Driskell Dinner was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funds Raised
Staff
A Quick Note on Staff
As of 2022, the Museum employed
approximately 145 staff. The data excludes approximately
80 security and janitorial staff,
which are provided by independent
third-party vendors.
In FY2021, the High intentionally reappraised and addressed the notion of a livable wage for its employees. All Museum employees now make either a minimum of $15/hour as nonexempt staff or $40,000/year as exempt staff.
Percentage of White Employees at the High Museum
Percentage of Intellectual Leadership Staff* by Race/Ethnicity
In 2018, the High participated in a national Mellon Foundation study of art museum staff. In every demographic category (ethnicity, gender, and “intellectual leadership”), the Museum scored significantly higher than the national average among peer institutions.
*educators, curators, conservators, senior administrators
Teen Team
The Teen Team is a diverse group of junior and senior high school students who work at the Museum as paid employees to gain knowledge and experience in various disciplines of the Museum. The Teen Team program is nationally regarded as a competitive program for teens who may be interested in the arts. Each year, at least two Teen Team seniors are offered Posse Scholarships, which covers full tuition and board to some of the nation’s top universities.
- White
- Black/African American
- Latino/e and Hispanic
- Middle Eastern
- Asian
2022–2023
2021–2022
2019–2020
2018–2019
2017–2018
2016–2017
Board of Directors
While gender diversity has been adequately represented on the Board, when looking at ethnicity, only 15% of Board members represent people of color.
Docents
Over the last five years, the High’s docent corps has steadily and successfully increased its recruitment efforts to invite people of color to act as art ambassadors for the Museum.
A Quick Note on Board Diversity
While progress has been made in diversifying Board representation by age and gender, further diversification by ethnicity is a strategic priority and area for improvement.
A Quick Note on Docents
There was no recruitment for the High's docent class in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the absence of
school groups.