From 2015 to 2020, the High increased its Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) participation from 15% in 2015 to 51% in 2020, a 240% increase. Over the last six years, we have averaged 52% 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.
High Museum of Art (FY23)
High Museum of Art
6-Year Average
2017–2023
Metro Atlanta Area
High Museum FY23 |
Atlanta, Georgia U.S. Census Bureau |
|
White | 43.25% | 37.6% |
Black/African American | 23.45% | 51.8% |
Latine and Hispanic | 8.3% | 4.3% |
Asian or Pacific Islander | 9.11% | 4.2% |
Native American or Alaska Native | 1.16% | 0.2% |
Multiple Races | 8.2% | 2.4% |
Other | 6.63% | — |
A Quick Note on Visitation
This demographic data is collected
in two ways: 1) our visitors self-identify
via touch polls located
throughout the museum and 2) via
mobile phone data aggregated
via on-site visitation. This data
excludes the nearly 50,000 schoolchildren
who visit the museum on
an annual basis.
A Quick Note on Artworks
This represents accessioned works
only and includes works in special
exhibitions and permanent collection
gallery rotations. African works
attributed to a group or 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.
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.
A Quick Note on Acquisitions
In FY2021, pandemic-related financial uncertainty caused us to impose a moratorium on acquisitions. Consequently, we consider FY2021 unreportable.
From FY11 through FY15, 32% of exhibitions featured women artists, artists of color, and LGBTQIA+ artists. Since FY16, we redoubled our efforts, increasing our presentation of exhibitions featuring women artists, artists of color, and LGBTQIA+ artists to an annual average of 61%.
In 2012, the High was named an original partnering institution of the Andrew W. Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship Program. The program increased diversity in the curatorial field by mentoring undergraduate students who have an interest in pursuing curatorial studies. The Mellon program supported a two-year paid fellowship ($20,000 for full two-year fellowship). As of 2023, thirteen students have been assigned to the High, and several have been hired 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.
In 2019, 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.
Since its inception in 2005, the Driskell Prize has annually 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 50 works by African American artists and awarded cumulative gifts of $500,000 to past recipients.
Quick Note: The Driskell Dinner was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Quick Note on Staff
As of FY23, the museum employed
approximately 158 staff. The data
provided excludes approximately
45 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.
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 cover full tuition and board to some of the nation’s top universities.
While gender diversity has been adequately represented on the Board, when looking at ethnicity, only 15% of Board members represent people of color.
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 docent candidate
class in 2020, 2021, and 2022
due to the COVID-19 pandemic
and the absence of school groups.