Labour disputes
California Institute of the Arts faculty and staff move to unionise
Grievances include changes to healthcare benefits, stagnant wages, layoffs and running the nonprofit arts college like a for-profit business
Art Gallery of Ontario to reopen after month-long strike as workers and leaders reach contract agreement
The Toronto museum had been closed since 26 March, when members of a union representing more than 400 employees went on strike
Unionised Guggenheim workers stage protests amid contract negotiations
Recent actions in front of and inside the Manhattan museum come as the workers are seeking their second contract since forming a union in 2019
Mass Moca employees end three-week strike following dispute over wages
Unionised workers and museum officials have ratified a new deal that raises staff minimum wages to $18 per hour
Art Gallery of Ontario closes as more than 400 workers go on strike
The strike comes after a breakdown in negotiations between the workers’ union and museum administrators, and as the institution pursues a C$100m expansion
Philadelphia Museum of Art workers stage protest during all-staff meeting
Administrators and unionised workers at the institution remain at an impasse over the issue of longevity pay
Unionised University of the Arts faculty prepare to strike after more than two years of contract negotiations
Professors at the Philadelphia art school have been ramping up their attempts to move negotiations forward
Employees at the Art Institute of Chicago museum and school ratify their first union contract
More than 500 workers at the institutions will get raises over 12%
Guggenheim Museum staff ratifies its first union contract
With 97% of the vote, museum employees signed their first union contract after two years at the bargaining table
Strike at New York's Hispanic Society ends after nearly two months
Workers at the museum ratified their first contract after many months of negotiations with leadership
Changing institutional culture from the inside out: why more and more US museum workers are forming unions
Employees across the sector are turning to unions to fight for better wages, benefits and working conditions
Lessons from a museum picket line
As workers at US art institutions continue to organise, negotiate and, when necessary, go on strike, the most high-profile museum strike in years, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, continues to provide insights
‘Such folk are treated like shit’: artists urge University of the Arts London to improve cleaners' working conditions
Artists including Tai Shani, Larry Achiampong and Jade Montserrat sign an open letter asking the institution to bring outsourced cleaners in-house
Brooklyn Museum workers hold rally at fundraising gala
Members of the museum’s union, who have been in negotiations with administration over their first contract for more than a year, handed out leaflets to attendees arriving for the annual Artists Ball
Hundreds of RISD students walk out in support of striking university workers
Students and faculty at the top-ranked art and design university have been vocal in their support of custodial, moving and groundskeeping staff
9,000 workers on strike at Rutgers University, home to one of US’s top art schools
The Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers is one of the most prestigious university art programmes on the East Coast
Strike at New York’s Hispanic Society enters second week as museum pushes back long-planned reopening
Unionised workers at the institution in Upper Manhattan have been on strike since 27 March as negotiations over their first contract have stalled
‘You can’t pay rent with prestige’: as contract negotiations drag on, unionised Guggenheim workers rally at exhibition openings
As museum members and supporters waited to enter opening celebrations for Gego and Sarah Sze shows, they were greeted by members of UAW Local 2110
Unionised Whitney Museum workers ratify their first contract after 16 months of negotiations
The deal means significant pay increases for hourly wage earners and salaried employees alike, and extends some benefits to temporary workers
Museums and heritage in 2022: industrial unrest, climate protests and damage to historic artefacts in Ukraine
New and refurbished museums open in Antwerp, Los Angeles and Sydney as Italian archaeologists make the "discovery of a generation" in a hilltop town in Tuscany
After 25 days, strike ends at New York’s New School and Parsons School of Design
The longest adjunct faculty strike to date in the US is over after instructors and administrators finally reached a tentative agreement on a new contract
Unionised workers file unfair labour charges against the Philadelphia Museum of Art
With contract negotiations well into their second year, the union claims the museum’s leadership has been “repeatedly interfering with employees’ rights”
Artist curator claims Art Toronto owes them back wages after unfair dismissal
When the fair went online-only during the pandemic last year, a planned section dedicated to queer and non-binary artists was cancelled
Oaxaca museum in Mexico is locked in standoff with private foundation
Director spends night inside as the institution’s funders fail to pay salaries