2016 in Museums, Money, and Politics

Andrea Fraser's project questions the public calling of American museums by cross-referencing data to show the overlapping of museum patronage and contributions to the political campaigns leading to the election of Donald Trump as president of the US in 2016. In a 2018 interview with ARTnet, Fraser states: "Do private, nonprofit its organizations funded and governed by wealthy patrons serve to legitimize government by and for the wealthiest members of society? Are the political activities and influence of the board members of arts oranizations consistent with their trusteeship of our collective cultural heritage? These qualities are not new, but they take on an urgecy as the political influence of highly concentrated wealth in the United States increases, and as a growing number of politicians promote nationalism and intolerance to secure voter support for plutocratic governance, attacking the civil rights and liberties upon which depend not only the arts, but an open and democratic society."
Text written by Curator José Luis Blondet for the exhibition catalog.