With this week’s 11th-hour settlement of a rancorous labor dispute, the Philadelphia Museum of Art was able to host a peaceful opening day (today) for museum visitors “from the region” (does New Jersey qualify?) of its eagerly anticipated Matisse in the 1930s. No longer will art lovers have to worry about dodging protesters, crossing picket lines or enduring insults shouted by members of AFSCME District Council 47, self-described (via Twitter) as a “progressive labor union w/ workers in Non-profit, Higher Ed., Cultural/Arts, & Gov. in greater Philadelphia, PA.”
Here’s the PMA’s triumphant tweet on this gloriously sunny day:
Today’s the day! “Matisse in the 1930s” is now open. Tickets: https://t.co/WFymUq5x5D pic.twitter.com/PtUUgPPUyH
— Philadelphia Museum of Art (@philamuseum) October 20, 2022
In darker days, the museum had to resort to engaging non-union art handlers (rather than its unionized-but-striking staff) to install its eagerly awaited Matisse show (co-organized with the Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris, and the Musée Matisse, Nice), presenting “more than 100 works, ranging from both renowned and rarely seen paintings and sculptures, to drawings and prints, to illustrated books” (as described in the museum’s press release).
This disconsolate veiled woman looks nonplussed by all the fuss, and could be (rightly) wondering why she’s been included in a show devoted to works made in the 1930s:
© 2022 Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
When I asked a PMA spokesperson about the identity of the installers, their qualifications (called into question by the protesters), and whether any art had been jeopardized during the move, he unreassuringly replied:
As reported in the press, the museum is not commenting on its special exhibition installation process.
The museum’s spokesperson did tell me that “the City of Philadelphia is a valued partner of the museum and over the last few weeks worked directly with the parties to help them reach a resolution” of the labor dispute. When I asked about the nature of the City’s help in reaching that resolution, the spokesperson advised me to contact the Mayor’s Office “for further comment.”
I emailed five specific questions to two officials from the city’s Department of Labor and got a reply from Kevin Lessard, the city’s Director of Communications, who told me that “after hearing that the two sides were at an impasse, the Mayor [Jim Kenney] requested Rich Lazer, Deputy Mayor for Labor, to get involved and help bring both sides to the negotiating table.”
Lessard conveyed Mayor Kenney’s official statement:
I am thankful that the AFSCME Local 397 and Philadelphia Art Museum’s leadership have reached an agreement that will benefit both workers and the museum as a whole. I’m also proud the deal includes family-sustaining wages and fair compensation and benefits. I am very grateful to residents and visitors for their patience during the last few weeks. I also want to personally commend Deputy Mayor Rich Lazer and other officials for facilitating the discussions between labor union leaders and the museum’s management during this difficult negotiating period, and for encouraging both sides to come to the table in good faith [emphasis added].
Judging from today’s hostile tweet by the PMA Union, “good faith,” may be in short supply in this era of sore feelings. Here’s a screenshot:
When it comes to mending broken ties and moving forward, it would seem that the museum’s new director, Sasha Suda, will have to play a leading role. But she will first have to purge the “bad blood” staining the headline of Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Max Marin‘s Oct. 17 post mortem of the strike—Art Museum employees return to work with a union contract. But bad blood still lingers for some:
Criticism also extended to the museum’s new director Sasha Suda, who took command of the PMA in September but, in a baffling move to many, stayed out of the negotiation process. During the strike, the union made her a regular target over her lack of engagement, at one point hanging a large canvas banner that asked “Where in the world is Sasha Suda?” outside the museum’s north entrance.
Through a museum spokesperson, Suda declined to be interviewed by CultureGrrl, but she did give an “exclusive interview Friday with The Inquirer,” in which she stated that she “believe[s] that unions and management will work together toward the future of this institution….It would have been irresponsible of me to weigh into decision-making when I have not been on the ground.”
The PMA’s union workers have exulted over their “major victories.” But the question remains as to whether those victories may be Pyrrhic: Will the bitter aftertaste of the vitriolic rhetoric make it hard for the former combatants to work together collegially? Will top professionals want to be part of what had become a toxic workplace? As CultureGrrl readers may remember: when Suda was named to succeed veteran director Timothy Rub as director of the PMA, I had raised raised some doubts about Philadelphia Museum’s Surprising Transition: From Experienced Leader to One with a Learning Curve.
That blog post had incurred push-back (in separate emails) from two museum directors and one art critic, all of whom thought I’d been too harsh. A director whom I greatly respect, Alex Nyerges of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, explicitly permitted me to publish his Suda kudo:
I know Sasha very well and although Tim’s resumé was considerably more extensive, she is more than capable and experienced. Three years at the National Gallery of Canada is more like ten years anywhere else. It’s a national museum. Complex, complicated and staid. She’s changed it completely. She is smart, measured and reasoned. I think she’ll be great for Philly.
Since her arrival at the PMA on Sept. 26, Suda has so far kept a surprisingly low profile, perhaps trying not to further inflame her trial-by-fire. What Sasha (short for “Alexandra”) publicly stated was this:
This agreement is a positive outcome and we hope it demonstrates that no matter how complex the challenge, we can work together. We believe that we have laid a firm foundation upon which to build for the future. It is time to heal, to turn the page, and move ahead together [emphasis added].”
What she urgently needs to do now is to win the staff’s trust, confidence and respect through detailed, in-person discussions of how she hopes to build a more harmonious future, while learning from the discord of the past. Only then can they begin to work in concert.
Here’s the museum’s full press release enumerating the specific terms of the settlement agreement that the union ratified on Sunday. It quotes Suda stating this:
We believe that the staff of the PMA is the foundation of the museum’s future. Unions can work in partnership with management to ensure that a thriving institution is also a safe and sustainable employer. We look forward to working with the entire reunited team, as we begin a new era of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in the service of all Philadelphians, and as a national and international destination for art.
Here’s hoping!
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