Glenn D. Lowry, Director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), has revealed his plans to leave his position in 2025, concluding a 30-year leadership era. His later years at MoMA have been characterized by protests and union actions, spotlighting board members’ financial ties to industries like mass incarceration and fossil fuels. Lowry took on the director role in 1995, following his tenure at the Art Gallery of Ontario. He initiated significant developments, including commissioning Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi for an expansion project that doubled MoMA’s exhibition space, completed in 2004.
In 1999, Lowry partnered with Alanna Heiss to finalize a merger that secured the future of the PS1 Contemporary Art Center, which was renamed MoMA PS1 in 2010. Despite expansions, the museum under Lowry’s leadership grappled with controversies. In 2015 and 2018, staff staged pickets and walkouts amid stalled union contract talks. During a 2022 recovery phase post-COVID, MoMA’s offer of job security in lieu of wage increases faced criticism, as employees had previously sacrificed raises during the pandemic.
MoMA has been a focal point for activism beyond labor issues, with groups like Decolonize This Place and MoMA Divest condemning the museum’s financial practices. Criticism was directed at board member Larry Fink for his ties to the Trump administration and investments in private prisons, and at Steven Tananbaum for profiting from Puerto Rico’s debt crisis. The 2021 Strike MoMA campaign highlighted these concerns, particularly targeting ex-board chairman Leon D. Black for his association with Jeffrey Epstein, and other trustees for their roles in contentious industries.
Protests against board members continued, with Marie-Josée Kravis facing backlash for her investments in fossil fuels and political donations. In September 2023, climate activists were arrested during a demonstration urging MoMA to sever ties with Kravis. Early 2024 saw the museum close temporarily when 800 protesters conducted a peaceful demonstration for Palestine. A subsequent incident involved the controversial denial of entry to a visitor carrying a keffiyeh, later apologized for by the museum.
As Lowry prepares to deliver lectures at the Louvre in Paris in 2025, MoMA’s board is set to launch an international search for his successor, marking a pivotal transition for the institution.
