To Our Community

We want to share with you some bittersweet news: Christopher Bedford, the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director, will depart the Museum on June 3 to lead the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

Under Christopher’s leadership, the museum has achieved many significant milestones—from the presentation of ambitious exhibitions and the incredible expansion and diversification of our collection to the development of public programs and initiatives that center our community and bring new audiences through our doors.

Most importantly, it is through his leadership that we reinvigorated our mission in 2018 to transform the BMA into a museum that places diversity and equity alongside artistic excellence at its core and better reflects the community that it serves. It is this vision that has guided us over the past several years and one that will continue to guide our work into the future.

We are grateful to Christopher for setting us on this essential path, and equally thankful that it has been so boldly and passionately adopted by the BMA’s Board of Trustees, senior leadership team, and staff.

The Board of Trustees remains committed to the equity goals that we have set forth, and this commitment does not change with Christopher’s departure. Our success is a credit to the dedication and hard work of the entire Museum staff, and senior leadership is prepared to carry forward our mission and bring to fruition many of the forward-thinking projects currently underway. They are also continuing to support the staff in their work to envision and implement new exhibitions, programs, and projects that give life to our mission and engage our community.

The BMA is well prepared for its next chapter. In the coming months, Christopher will work with the senior leadership team to ensure a seamless handoff of operational duties. This collaborative effort will ensure an efficient transfer of work at the top of the institution. At the same time, the Board of Trustees will meet to form a search committee and begin the effort to identify our next director. We anticipate a rigorous and expansive process guided by our core values, and we are confident that we will find an individual who shares our vision for the future of the BMA.

We want to take this moment to thank Christopher for his courageous and inspired leadership and to wish him well in his new pursuits. As we step into the Museum’s next phase, we are emboldened and enthusiastic. The past several years have been challenging for the museum field. We have all had to grapple with institutional systems and approaches that need new thinking and new solutions. The BMA has vigorously challenged the status quo, and we are looking forward to working together, as board, leadership, and staff, to continue to imagine and implement a new way forward that supports and elevates artistic excellence, equity, and community engagement.

Thank you for your continued support of the BMA.

Clair Zamoiski Segal
Chair, BMA Board of Trustees