Museums and Funders Embracing New Constituencies

Abstract

The census data of 1990 served as a wakeup call for the leaders of cultural institutions across the nation. The 1990 census indicated that minorities were growing at a rate greater than that of the nonminority population; and Latinos were the fastest growing group in the nation. Museum management teams were forced to come to terms with changing demographic realities. Some museums were sited in communities that had once been affluent, but were now populated by the poor and/or working classes. Others were acknowledging a decline in visitation as the competition for the leisure time of local citizens became more intense due to the creation of new for-profit and nonprofit venues offering entertainment and educational opportunities. Many museum leaders were forced to acknowledge that their collections, exhibitions, and programs were shaped by a group of individuals who were no longer active stakeholders and who did not support the institution in sufficient number. Additionally, local residents often showed little interest in the issues and/or values of the museums that sat in the heart of their communities.