Whom Do Museums Serve?

Joan Weinstein is Vice President, Program Planning at Getty. She was previously Director of the Getty Foundation, where she was responsible for strategic grant initiatives internationally related to museum practice, art history, and conservation. In 2010, she co-created PST ART, Getty’s region-wide art experience involving dozens of cultural organizations throughout Southern California and directed the project through its first three iterations. She led the $40 million LA Arts Recovery Fund during the pandemic and the LA Fire Relief Fund for artists and arts workers following the 2025 fires. Weinstein began her career as a professor of art history at the University of Pittsburgh and is the author of several books and numerous articles on the history of modern art in Weimar Germany. She holds a PhD in the history of art from the University of California, Los Angeles, and studied at the Phillips-Universität Marburg.

Kia Vahland has been an editor at the Süddeutsche Zeitung since 2008, where she was head of the art section until 2017 and co-founded the SZ opinion section in 2018. She studied art history and political science in Rome, Hamburg, and Dijon and worked as an editor for the magazine Art and the ZDF program “Willemsens Woche.” Vahland writes for Geo Epoche and is a columnist for Radio Bremen and the Swiss magazine Republik. She teaches at the Deutsche Journalistenschule and at LMU Munich. She is a 2026 Thomas Mann Fellow.

Erin Harkey is CEO of Americans for the Arts, where she drives the organization’s mission to advance the people, organizations, and systems supporting arts and culture across America through advocacy, research, and national convening. With more than 20 years of experience at the intersection of arts, public policy, and community development, she has built a career focused on strengthening the role of arts and culture in civic life. Prior to joining Americans for the Arts, Harkey served as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, following leadership roles as First Deputy Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner for Programming. She also served as Senior Policy Advisor for Arts and Culture in the Mayor’s Office, advising on cultural policy and strategy across government in Chicago.