Senior leadership at the Guggenheim will not be taking pay cuts, according to a museum spokeswoman, Tina Vaz. The cuts are spread over six departments, including advancement, education, publications and archives, but do not affect curators and top executives. Additionally, the museum’s chief curator, Naomi Beckwith, who is organizing two major exhibitions in Europe for outside institutions, will continue in her role (and she is finishing work on a major solo exhibition for the artist Rashid Johnson, a former museum trustee, which opens at the Guggenheim in April).
The layoffs were the latest sign that New York’s museum sector has suffered from rising overhead costs and lower attendance since the Covid pandemic. Earlier this month, the Brooklyn Museum said that it was facing a projected $10 million deficit, planned to cut 40 employees, and would mount fewer exhibitions. On Friday, the New York City Council held a hearing to assess the possible effects of budget cuts on city services, including cultural institutions.
Guggenheim officials declined to explain what the museum’s projected deficit was or how much Westermann is being paid as director and chief executive, saying that they would release financial figures later this year. The museum’s operating budget in 2023, the latest tax filing on record, was $72.5 million and the endowment was $124.6 million. (Salaries account for about 60 percent of the budget.) For each of the previous four years, Richard Armstrong, the director until 2023, had total compensation packages, including retirement income and deferred compensation, that topped $1 million a year, according to tax filings.
This will be the third round of layoffs in five years at the Guggenheim. Two waves of earlier cuts resulted in more than 30 employees losing their jobs, including two deputy directors.
Perhaps more than anything, the Guggenheim has relied on international tourism, which has dropped significantly since the pandemic. It is also awaiting the promises of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, its outpost in the United Arab Emirates, which has suffered controversies and delays. The museum still has not announced an opening date for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which is under construction.
