London's National Gallery is implementing significant staff reductions and program changes to address a projected £8.2 million ($11.2 million) budget deficit. The museum has launched a voluntary exit scheme for employees and will cut public programs, aiming to reduce the deficit by £2.6–3 million through personnel costs. The remaining shortfall will be addressed through other operational cuts.
The National Gallery in London has successfully reached a target of £2 million in annual savings following a voluntary redundancy program and a recruitment freeze. Initiated in February to address a projected £8.2 million deficit, the voluntary exit scheme allowed the institution to avoid compulsory redundancies among its nearly 500 employees. While the gallery has met its initial savings goal, it must still find ways to bridge a remaining multi-million pound shortfall through non-staff cost reductions.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has laid off 33 employees and eliminated 23 vacant positions, a 10% overall staff reduction, to address a projected $13 million budget deficit. The cuts affect a range of roles, including three endowed curatorial positions, and have sparked renewed tensions with the museum's unionized workforce, which is seeking to bargain over the decision.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is facing allegations of preemptive self-censorship to avoid conflict with the Trump administration. Former employees report that the institution removed online educational resources linking Jim Crow laws to Nazi ideology, unlisted videos discussing American racism, and renamed or cancelled workshops focused on the "fragility of democracy." While a museum spokesperson denied these claims, internal emails suggest leadership was concerned about how certain terms might be interpreted in the current political climate.
Artist Nicholas Galanin withdrew from a symposium tied to the Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibition “The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,” alleging that organizers asked him not to record the event or share footage on social media. The symposium, a private event not publicly listed on the Smithsonian’s website, also included curator Hamza Walker, artists Titus Kaphar and Miguel Luciano, and critic Aruna D’Souza. Galanin stated on Instagram that the request effectively censored participants, though a Smithsonian spokesperson denied censorship, citing that not all participants consented to recording. The exhibition was previously singled out by President Donald Trump in an executive order criticizing the Smithsonian for promoting “divisive, race-centered ideology.”