Reimagining the Museum Experience Through Love: The Broad's New Visions
April 1, 2024 Fanyu Lin for Financial Times (Chinese)
Philanthropy, born from the Greek words "philos" for love and "anthropos" for humanity, manifests "love of humanity" at its very heart. In this edition of the Global Leadership Conversation Series, I was joined by Joanne Heyler, Founding Director and President of The Broad, a contemporary art museum founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad in downtown Los Angeles.
Portrait of Joanne Heyler, Photo by Adrian Gaut
Joanne’s leadership at The Broad exemplifies a powerful blend of love, strength, and genuine care—“a real human level of care”. She shared, “I think when you come out of a traditional museum setting is so much about, obviously, intellect and about academia to a certain extent. And what I really want to do is not put any of that aside, but have alongside it a real human level of care.”
Through her work, Joanne not only leads the team to curate a space for contemporary art but also to nurture an environment where love—understood as an active engagement with and for the community—drives innovation and inclusivity.
The Broad Exterior, Photos by Mike Kelley
The Exhibition “All About Love”
Joanne expressed with compassion and conviction that in the art world, there's a growing awareness of the need for a deeper sense of care and love, moving beyond the conventional emphasis on intellect and academia. This shift is not about diminishing the importance of scholarly rigor, but about complementing it with a human level of care and empathy. It's about understanding that art, at its core, is a human endeavor and should be approached as such. This perspective is especially resonant with younger generations, who increasingly seek authenticity and genuine connection in cultural experiences.
“Institutions have historically separated notions of care and criticality, but I don’t think it needs to be this way. I really insist, through this museum, that advanced scholarship, and accessibility or care, have to be made compatible. It is challenging to constantly try new approaches and unlearn old ways of running arts institutions. But I would say that the youth and diversity of our growing audience and the response to what we’ve offered so far, has strengthened my resolve to keep going,” she told, “I want there to be many generations who view art and artists as key to living a full life. I believe we need art alongside the struggles of our time, to better understand each other.
For years, with a deliberate focus on diversity, The Broad has added works by artists of color to over half of its new acquisitions, deepening this commitment with 12 out of the 14 artists introduced since 2021 being artists of color. Joanne shared, “I believe that an art museum open to the public has a social responsibility to exhibit work that empowers its viewers and offers space to think through hopes and anxieties, both political and personal, and to offer the joy of connection through understanding.”
The current collection exhibition in the first-floor galleries, “Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog)”, puts the multicultural fabric of Los Angeles front and center, featuring their recent additions such as Los Angeles-based artists Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Patrick Martinez among others.
"Desire, Knowledge, and Hope (with Smog)" Opening Day, Photo by Farah Sosa, Courtesy of The Broad
This diversity fosters cultural dialogue within the community by reflecting the myriad viewpoints and experiences of Los Angeles' residents. The Broad's foundation on the principles of diversity ensures that it not only showcases a wide range of artistic expressions but also actively participates in broader societal conversations. By curating works from artists who tackle challenging social justice issues, the museum becomes a platform for engaging discussions and reflections on topics that resonate deeply with its audience. Such a commitment acknowledges the role of artists as pivotal agents of change, highlighting the museum's understanding of the importance of these dialogues to its visitors. This approach not only enriches the cultural landscape but also strengthens community ties through shared exploration and understanding of complex themes.
The upcoming exhibition "Mickalene Thomas: All About Love" is a profound exploration of care, healing, and reconciliation within communities. Thomas's work, known for challenging conventional norms and bringing to light the stories of historically underrepresented groups, aligns perfectly with The Broad's commitment to inclusivity and dialogue. This collaboration and the exhibition's focus were inspired by the intersection of Thomas's art and the themes of bell hooks' seminal work, "All About Love," illustrating the transformative power of love and care within communities.
This summer, The Broad is set to unveil this globally touring exhibition, showcasing over 80 of Thomas's works spanning the last two decades. Her inclusion in the museum's collection introduces a vital and unique perspective, especially through the creation of immersive, domestic settings that reflect her belief in the foundational role of personal and cultural references in understanding and creating art. This concept resonates with The Broad's ethos of engaging audiences on their terms, moving beyond traditional educational roles to honor personal experiences and the integration of art and life.
As Joanne put it, “Grounded in her focus on healing and community, the show will include immersive home-like environments as settings for her works, underscoring her belief that understanding or creating art begins, in a sense, ‘at home’ in your own references and cultural anchor points. It validates lived experiences, and the integration of art into life, rather than treating art as separate and exclusive.”
The decision to center the exhibition around the themes of bell hooks' influential book came from their ongoing dialogues with Thomas, recognizing the synergy between hooks' exploration of love as a dynamic force—“loving and being loved are active, ongoing processes”—and Thomas's artistic exploration of love's representation and its political dimensions. Joanne also addressed the urgency of nurturing and care, particularly highlighted during an election year in the United States. She added, “These themes are aligned with how we operate as a museum, and both Mickalene Thomas and bell hooks provide entry points to contemplate healing, justice, and what it means to look after one another.”
Joanne revealed that the important writings of bell hooks have been instrumental in shaping her approach to leadership as well, highlighting the need for adaptability, growth, and collective support within the museum's operations. As a leader in the museum field, she considers it a huge privilege to foster a supportive environment for their staff, artists and the broader community, promoting a culture of collaboration across all aspects of the museum. This collaborative spirit is what has positioned The Broad as a forefront institution in the art world, demonstrating that through care, love, and mutual respect, we can create a more inclusive and nurturing space for all.
“That Larger Purpose"
Cultivating a museum experience that honors such emotions beyond intellect stems from a deep-rooted origin. 30 years ago, Joanne was appointed Curator of The Broad Art Foundation. “Across my long career with the late Eli Broad, and his wife Edythe Broad, their core commitment to cultural institutions, especially in Los Angeles, has always been crystal clear, and the appeal of that larger purpose continues to inspire me to keep innovating.” Joanne notes that right from the start of their art collecting journey in the 1970s and 1980s, Eli had a clear vision for transforming art institutions and museums in Los Angeles and beyond, often speaking out boldly and fearlessly challenging the status quo. “As a mentor, his directness and boldness helped me refine and sharpen my own views on how to effectively place contemporary art closer to the center of civic life,” Joanne recalled.
Launched in 1984, The Broad Art Foundation marked the inception of Eli and Edythe Broad’s philanthropic journey in the arts, in addition to supporting public education, and funding scientific and medical research. Working closely with the Broads, Joanne played a key role in developing a collection that now includes the works of approximately 200 artists. She explained their approach to collecting, “Over decades, we built uniquely deep holdings in the work of many significant American postwar artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, as well as artists who emerged in the 1980s such as Cindy Sherman and Jean Michel Basquiat, and we continue to seek out new artists we believe we can follow over decades to create similarly deep holdings in their work.”
Eli Broad often attributed the genesis of his art collection passion to his wife, Edythe, who was the original art enthusiast in their family. Her profound connection to art and belief in the value of artists have been foundational to the Broads’ collection and its engagement with the art community. As Joanne described, “Eli used to begin every speech he gave about art by crediting his wife Edythe for igniting his admiration for—and eventually, a self-described ‘addiction’ to—collecting. Edythe has a heartfelt and personal response to art and a belief in the importance of artists, and without her, none of what we do today would exist.”
Portrait of Eli and Edythe Broad, Photo by Annie Liebowitz
Despite being more private than Eli, Edythe's contributions to art acquisition have been indispensable from the outset and remain vital. Edythe and Joanne open visit galleries, studios, and art fairs together, meeting with artists directly to explore what’s presently happening in the art world. Known for her kindness and unique sense of humor, Edythe enriches every artists studio visit, often bringing gifts and leaving a lasting impression on those they meet.
In Joanne’s words, “Her keen eye for innovative arts practices and her genuine embrace of new perspectives is palpable throughout the collection. In recent days, Edythe is particularly inspired by the art scene in LA and the growing number of artists here.” Joanne mentioned a memorable visit to the Charlie James Gallery in LA's Chinatown last year, which allowed them to reconnect with the work of John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres, two of the artists whose works they collected in the 1980s. “It felt so full circle to see these artists again, making works responding to Chinatown in Los Angeles just as they had made works about the community in the Bronx in the 1980s,” she noted with nostalgia.
Joanne Heyler and Edythe Broad, Photo by Owen Kolasinski/BFA.com
Back in the 80s, the Broads recognized a gap in the public's access to private art collections and how public institutions rarely matched the rapid acquisition capabilities and resources of private collectors on a large scale.Distinguished from the onset by a commitment as strong to cultivating a thriving cultural environment as to amassing significant works for their personal collection, the Foundation established itself with a unique mission. It was conceived as an independent entity from their private collection, solely focused on making art accessible to the public by loaning pieces to art institutions globally. As the Broads actively collected contemporary art, the Foundation facilitated its wider availability, offering museums the opportunity to display pieces that might otherwise remain unseen. To this day, it stays true to this mission, having provided over 600 museums with more than 9,000 artwork loans since it was established 40 years ago.
Entering the 2000s, the Broads began to focus on the future of the collection and their legacy, followed by the birth of The Broad museum, which is an organic process driven by the core mission to be of service, countering critics' expectations that it would simply become a conservative "treasure house".
This shifted some of Joanne’s attention to take a deeper look at art institutions. As she recalled, “We worked in various ways with LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), for example, which brought me a clearer understanding of the complexities museums face. Over roughly a decade, we explored various ways the Broad art collection could best be of service to LA in the future.” While LACMA was developing The Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM), which opened in 2008, they were simultaneously searching for a site to set up a new facility for art storage and study headquarters for The Broad Art Foundation, which was intended to facilitate art loans to LACMA and other global institutions.
Over time, as they evaluated different locations, their goal evolved towards creating an independent museum dedicated exclusively to the Broad collection. Eli became convinced that a museum financed by their Foundation and operated independently would best serve the purpose of making the Broad collection accessible to the public. As Joanne reflects on this tipping point, “A couple things became clear: our collection continued to grow and was approaching institutional scale and scope; and Los Angeles had become—due in large part to Eli’s influence and patronage—a dynamic global player in terms of arts and culture.”
Consequently, by 2010, the commitment to establish a new art museum in the city was solidified, charting a new course for the future. They saw immense opportunity in attracting a broad audience for art in Los Angeles through a museum with a fresh, more accessible and contemporary approach to welcoming visitors.
Reimagining the Museum Experience
In 2015, The Broad collection found its own public home with the opening of The Broad museum in downtown Los Angeles. “At The Broad, our ideas about access, and developing a new and larger audience for contemporary art, were put to the test,” as Joanne expressed so thankfully and proudly, “and we more than passed that test, attracting nearly 5.5 million visitors—four times the attendance we’d originally envisioned.”
Joanne shared at the beginning of our conversation that her greatest joy comes from the museum’s success in attracting such an enthusiastic, young, and diverse audience, and from observing their engagement with the collection. “I go to the galleries when we're open to the public, and I see how many people are enjoying the collection. I even just hear the noise of lots of people in the galleries, and quite sincerely, that is what makes me happiest,” she revealed. “We are a very audience focused institution, so it's a priority for me to make sure the audience feels welcome and feels great. It would make sense that seeing this in action is what makes me the most inspired as a leader.”
Since its opening, the museum has evolved into a cultural nexus, especially for those who might not typically visit museums. This magnetism is largely due to the museum offering a contemporary experience, realized by its architectural design that eschews traditional rigidity for fluid, serendipitous encounters, thereby redefining it as a dynamic social space.
The Broad Exterior, Photos by Mike Kelley
The Broad Art Collection Vault Window, Photos by Mike Kelley
In achieving this architectural innovation, Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) were instrumental. As Joanne pointed out, “Diller Scofidio + Renfro were perfect collaborators in bringing our vision for The Broad to life. They believed as strongly as we do in creating public spaces that are imaginative, inspiring, and adaptable.” Together, they created a structure that transcends the typical role of a museum, or a “neutral container for the collection”. The design concept of "the veil and the vault" introduces a layered journey for visitors, with "the vault" at the heart of the building, showcasing parts of the collection not on immediate display. This decision to centralize storage within the building's core, traditionally hidden away, adds a layer of intrigue and extraordinary transparency to the visitor experience. As she detailed, “Making that core into a massive sculptural volume, DS+R created poetry out of the ordinary. Visitors glimpse the contents of the vault when they circulate from the first to the third floor and back again, through beautiful viewing windows off the main stairwell.”
The building's exterior, characterized by a perforated white honeycomb "veil," allows for a visual connection with the city, further breaking down barriers between the museum and its urban environment. This design ethos extends to the interior, where the architecture supports rather than overshadows the art. High ceilings and unobstructed gallery spaces encourage easy circulation and interaction with the artworks.
Accessibility was a key consideration, not just in the museum's layout but also in its location and environmental impact. Positioned on Grand Avenue and enhanced by the nearby Grand Ave. Arts/Bunker Hill Metro station which opened last year, The Broad ensures ease of access for all, offering local and international visitors an easy pathway via public transit. The Broad also stands out for its ecologically-minded design, earning a LEED Gold certification in 2016, a rare achievement among museums in Los Angeles and across the country. Joanne articulated, “Considerations around energy-efficient lighting, maintaining our green public plaza with biofiltration, and connecting with mass transit felt integral to how we conceived of the museum’s design and experience for future generations to come.”
Through these thoughtful design choices and collaborations, The Broad not only enhances the visitor experience but also fosters a deeper human connection, setting a new standard for museum architecture and engagement.
The museum's achievement is attributed not only to its celebrated collection and brilliant architectural design but also to their commitment to offering an enriching and innovative experience for everyday visitors. This includes diverse special exhibitions, interactive programs blending music, poetry, and dialogues, all designed to resonate with a broad spectrum of audiences. Joanne explains, “I believe we have captured such a large public audience by rethinking from the ground up what pieces of the usual art museum approach really work in the 21st century—and what should be left behind.”
L.A. Intersections, January 2024, Photos by Salvador Ceja Garcia, Courtesy of The Broad
In charting this new path to reimagine a museum experience that broke away from the norms, they put visitors at the center of every decision-making, ensuring The Broad emerged as a welcoming space for everyone, particularly caring for those who had felt marginalized by the conventional museum environment. She shared, “We intentionally remove barriers that have kept people away from contemporary art institutions.”
The museum has a policy of free general admission for all, allowing visitors to intimately experience the artwork and even glimpse behind the scenes into the storage vault, free from the usual confines of barriers or glass unless necessary. Gallery staff actively encourage visitors from diverse backgrounds to interact with the art on their own terms, fostering a sense of belonging and open dialogue.
Joanne also emphasizes the way they present the collection, which is designed to be engaging and inviting. “Our deep holdings allow for entire rooms to be dedicated to a single artist. As a result, each gallery becomes an education in an artist’s practice and perspective, without being didactic.” Building upon the exhibitions, their programming, bridging the worlds of art and popular culture, invites enthusiasts of various genres to explore art in new ways, sparking fresh interests and passions. For her, witnessing the impact of these initiatives, as more people appreciate the nuanced differences their efforts make, is immensely rewarding.
In our time, art can seem out of reach, yet The Broad endeavors to challenge this perception. By exhibiting works themed around love, the museum not only offers an emotional experience that transcends intellectual understanding but also highlights the profound significance of weaving art into the fabric of everyday life. “The throughline in everything we present is grounded in social values so prominent in the artworks of the Broad collection since day one, art’s ability to chronicle history, and our belief that being accessible to a general audience is compatible with depth and excellence in scholarship,” she stated eloquently.
bell hooks reminds us in All About Love: New Visions that “Turning away we risk moving into a wilderness of spirit so intense we may never find our way home again. I write of love to bear witness both to the danger in this movement, and to call for a return to love.” The Broad, through each of its exhibitions and programs, is living out this call, making love the bridge that connects art with the human heart, transforming art from something elusive into a warm, illuminating presence accessible to all.
