JPC filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April of this year after a decade of financial troubles, which has included selling off portions of their media empire. Originally offered for sale in 2015 in order to reduce their debt, the archive was acquired for $30 million as part of an auction of the company’s assets.
In an opinion piece published in the New York Times this weekend, Ford Foundation president Darren Walker calls on museums to “step into the future” and better represent the realities of the American experience, including inequality. Citing the recent resignation of Warren Kanders from the board of the Whitney, Walker believes that it is high time that museum boards, staff and exhibitions better represent the changing face of America and the world: “Museums have the chance to redefine excellence and relevance. They should be civic spaces where we can gather and do the exhilarating work of building community. For that to happen, institutions should look beyond the gilded frames of this new Gilded Age, and better reflect the public they serve.”
