Whom Do Museums Serve?

Fans of Seurat at the Art Institute of Chicago (Georges Seurat, "La Grande Jatte", 1884) © Creative Commons.
Th. October 29, 2026
Location: Thomas Mann House

A conversation with 2026 Thomas Mann Fellow Kia Vahland, Joan Weinstein, Sandra Jackson-Dumont, moderated by Erin Harkey.

Language: English・By Invitation Only

 

Info

Join us in the living room of the Thomas Mann House for an in-depth conversation between the art historian Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty foundation and vice president for Getty-wide program planning, the art curator Sandra Jackson-Dumont, former director and CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, and 2026 Thomas Mann Fellow Kia Vahland who, as a journalist and art historian, researches the community-building role of museums. The discussion will be moderated by Erin Harkey, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts.

Museums are a “third place” after home and work—a public space for encounter, reflection, education, relaxation, leisure, and imagination. Exhibition spaces and other places of material heritage enjoy high credibility, as studies by the American Alliance of Museums have shown. People often trust them more than science, the media, politics, corporations, and social media.

At a time when the modern liberal order is in danger and authoritarian movements and right-wing populists all over the world seek to undermine and control long-running cultural institutions, museums as well as memorial and World Heritage sites play a key role as guardians of cultural knowledge, community, and democratic values.

What helps museums develop resilience and remain faithful to historical facts, the objects they preserve and the needs of their audiences? How can they bring people together in times of great uncertainty? In this conversation, the art historians discuss critically which museum concepts in the United States and Europe can build community and do justice to the diverse historical past and a tense present, and what we can learn from them for the future.  

Participants

Joan Weinstein
Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust.

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.

Sandra Jackson-Dumont
Sandra Jackson-Dumont is a curator, educator, and cultural strategist whose work reimagines the role of museums in public life. Her practice is rooted in narrative equity, civic imagination, and the redefinition of cultural institutions as civic infrastructure. Trained in art history, studio art, and public engagement, she bridges scholarship and lived experience, activating museums as platforms for dialogue, stewardship, and collective transformation.
 
She was appointed the 2025/26 Getty President's Scholar and was most recently the Director/ CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Jackson-Dumont brings an interdisciplinary, justice centered approach to questions of cultural participation, public engagement, and institutional transformation. Equally astute in operational execution as she is in arts and equity centered cultural strategy, Jackson Dumont pairs organizational and leadership excellence with a deep commitment to building institutions that strengthen social cohesion, democratic participation, and community well-being. The has held senior positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Whitney Museum of American, and the Seattle Art Museum.

 

Kia Vahland

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. Previously, she worked as an editor for the magazine Art and the ZDF program “Willemsens Woche.” Vahland is a columnist for Radio Bremen and the Swiss magazine Republik, and has written many nonfiction books on art and history. She was a fellow at Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin and teaches at LMU Munich since 2010.

Erin Harkey

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.

Partner

An event by the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles in Collaboration with the Getty.