The New York Academy of Art has donated $66,000 in funds originally received from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), a nonprofit supporting sexually exploited girls. The move redirects all donations the school accepted from Epstein after his 2008 conviction. The academy's board chair, Eileen Guggenheim, who solicited the funds, will retire from her role a month early on April 1, following renewed scrutiny of the institution's Epstein ties.
This action highlights the ongoing pressure on cultural institutions to address and sever financial and reputational links to disgraced figures. Guggenheim's accelerated departure and the matching of the redirected funds by board members represent a direct institutional response to allegations and public fallout, underscoring how past associations continue to force accountability and operational changes within the art world.