In mid-June, Whistleblower Aid, a non-profit organization that supports employees seeking to expose illegal activity in private companies and the government, sent a letter to the commissioners of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) with the subject line: “Detroit Institute of Arts Meets not the AAM accreditation criteria. ” It was signed by John M. Tye, who in October represented Frances Haugen – the Facebook whistleblower who revealed that their algorithm was aimed at sowing discord and that the company knew that Instagram was responsible for body image problems in young people. The letter reiterated complaints about museum management that was originally sent in 2021, when a recording of a confidential meeting was leaked and published by the Metro Times.
Changes are “long overdue” at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), the message claimed. It cited findings obtained in DIA’s own independent investigation, which the museum hired the law firm Crowell & amp; Moring to complete. Salvador Salort-Pons, who took up the post of director, president and CEO of the museum in 2015, had “on more than one occasion” asked staff to hire applicants solely on the basis of race and gender regardless of qualifications, the investigation found. And a disproportionate number of those who resigned during his term of office were women: In 2018, for example, 27% of women left in management and professional positions, in contrast to only 2% of men. Some former and current employees indicated to investigators that Salort-Pons had retaliated against employees who had made complaints to him or human resources.
The letter urged AAM not to re-accredit the museum. It invoked several specific AAM accreditation criteria that it believed the DIA failed to meet, including compliance with local, state, and federal laws; the ethical management of the collections; and its commitment to accountability and transparency.
In response to Hyperallergic’s request for comment, a DIA spokesman said that “the allegations made by Whistleblower Aid restore anonymous allegations from two years ago.” Crowell & amp; Moring’s investigation, she added, “concluded that the core of the allegations was unfounded.”
“Although we were relieved to hear about the findings of the report, we acknowledged through the process that there was room for improvement in how we engage with all of our valued constituencies,” the spokesman continued. “To that end, DIA launched a process of increased engagement with its internal constituencies designed to facilitate open dialogue within the institution and promote the ongoing development of the museum’s culture and activities. We are proud of the success of this initiative, and DIA is fully committed to a process of continuous improvement and improvement of our practice. “
Since reporting in March 2021 on managerial failure at DIA, “things have only gotten worse,” Tye told Hyperallergic in a recent interview. In the same month, at least six board members withdrew in protest when the board’s executive committee chose to appoint Salort-Pons to a new five – year term as director. Members of both staff and the board have left their dissatisfaction with Salort-Pons and board chairman Eugene A. Gargaro, Jr.’s management, Tye said, adding that “there are fewer and fewer people involved in the museum who have any idea what’s going on. and have some interest in fixing things. “
Despite paying Crowell & amp; The findings were not made public until the audio leak cost $ 741,380 for its fact-finding mission. Tye says the museum has never so much as acknowledged receipt of Whistleblower AIDS revelations, suggesting, in his view, that management is uninterested in genuine reform.
Since Whistleblower Aid first began representing employees at DIA, Tye says he has spoken to “well over a dozen” current and former employees and board members “whose lives have been affected by two highly ineffective leaders.”
“Whistleblower Aid is based in DC and deals mostly with government matters,” Tye said. “We never thought we would make revelations for an art museum. But every time I think this case has gone its way, new people – current and former employees and board members, none of whom know each other’s names – come to me independently with “Almost identical concerns from different points of view. They are desperate: they love art and it affects them personally.”
Another long-running dispute concerns a $ 5 million museum loan of a $ 5 million El Greco painting by Salort-Pons’ father-in-law. In 2020, Whistleblower Aid complained that the loan was granted without sufficient transparency regarding potential conflicts of interest.
On June 21, Whistleblower Aid also sent a letter to government officials in Michigan urging the state to investigate DIA’s violations of state nonprofit laws and labor laws. Despite the well-documented history of violations at the museum, Tye says the Internal Revenue Service, the Association of Art Museum Directors and Michigan government officials have failed to impose appropriate punishment for the museum management’s misdeeds.
“No one who is responsible for enforcing the museum’s compliance with the rules and laws has done its job,” he said.
Each re-accreditation from AAM remains valid for ten years. Although there are no immediate concrete consequences of an institution losing its accreditation, AAM lists some of the benefits of accreditation such as increased credibility with donors and funding groups, better relationships with other institutions and an improved public image.
A spokesman for AAM told Hyperallergic that the organization was aware of Whistleblower Aids’ letter, but declined to comment further, citing a policy that does not allow the organization to discuss a museum’s accreditation status. AAM’s accreditation commission meets three times a year, in February, June and October, and usually announces final decisions several weeks later.
“If AAM re-accredits DIA with all the evidence – even though their own lawyers say they broke all these laws – what does accreditation mean?” asked Tye. “It’s obviously pointless at the time.”
