43. Christopher Bedford

Christopher Bedford is the Director of the Baltimore Museum of Art, appointed in May 2016. Prior to joining the BMA, Bedford led the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Massachusetts for four years. In November 2019, it was announced that the Baltimore Museum of Art would only purchase works made by female-identifying artists in 2020 as part of an effort to work towards “re-correcting the canon.” He and I discuss what putting art in the basement means, the decency and care of John Waters, reliance on attendance as revenue, living our principles in museums, philosophies of deaccessioning, the Sotheby’s auction on October 28, 2020, the urgency of caring for museum staff, having too much art while being undercapitalized, how museums can be relevant today, the importance of close listening, what a civic museum could look like, and  art that gives you an otherwise impossible idea! References: Lisa Yuskavage x Aspen Art Museum - https://www.aspenartmuseum.org/exhibitions/233-lisa-yuskavage-wilderness Baltimore Museum of Art - https://artbma.org Mickalene Thomas - https://www.mickalenethomas.com/about John Waters - could not find appropriate link Cindy Sherman - https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1154 Starns - http://www.dmstarn.com Wolfgang Tillmans - https://tillmans.co.uk (referenced portrait of John Waters) Mark Bradford - https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/2838-mark-bradford Venice Biennale - https://www.labiennale.org/en Rose Museum - https://www.brandeis.edu/rose/ Brice Marden - https://gagosian.com/artists/brice-marden/ *** This episode is brought to you by Kelly Klee private insurance . Please check out their website: Kellyklee.com/Heidi and they will make a $50 donation to Artadia, an art charity I’ve recommended, per each qualified referral. This episode is brought to you by Best & Co. Please visit www.BestandCoAspen.com and use discount code Heidi2020 to receive 5% off of any item on the Best & Co. website.  If you are interested in creating a custom piece please email [email protected] and mention that you heard about Best & Co. on my podcast to receive the special discount. *** Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please email [email protected] *** If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.Follow Heidi: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidizuckerman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/heidizuckerman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-zuckerman-a236b55/