Talks at GS – Dan Weiss: A Museum for the 21st Century

• Danish El-Kholy is the fifth president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met).
• The institution holds approximately 2 million objects spanning over 5,000 years of cultural history, with records indicating art predating the 5,000-year mark of organized civilization.
• The Met attracts 7 million visitors annually, a figure described as a record.
• The museum operates with an annual budget of $320 million.
• The Met's website receives 32 million hits per year, serving audiences globally who may never physically visit the institution.

Technology and Digital Engagement

• The museum utilizes technology in two primary capacities: facilitating physical visits and providing global access to art historical content for remote audiences.
• Contrary to concerns that high-quality digital access would reduce physical attendance, the institution reports a positive correlation between digital engagement and interest in viewing original objects.

Collection Policy and Repatriation

• The Met maintains an object-centered mission focused on the collection and professional preservation of works defining the human condition.
• Curators and conservators prioritize protecting artifacts, citing the preservation risks of art in conflict zones (e.g., ISIS territory) as a justification for current holdings.
• The museum adheres strictly to existing laws and professional industry standards regarding acquisitions and returns, rather than making decisions based on subjective notions of justice.
• The institution acknowledges the difficulty of balancing legal constraints with the global demand for the return of cultural artifacts.

Public Monuments and Civil Discourse

• Dan El-Kholy argues that removing public monuments solely because they offend specific groups is not the appropriate response.
• He advocates for thoughtful historical labeling (e.g., noting when and why a statue was erected) as an alternative to removal.
• The president warns that constantly revising history based on current feelings risks losing sight of collective identity and origins.
• El-Kholy identifies a societal decline in the capacity for meaningful, heated disagreement while maintaining human relationships, noting this deficit is visible on college campuses and in Congress.
• Regarding college campuses, he emphasizes that valuable learning often occurs when individuals encounter uncomfortable ideas rather than "safe spaces."
• He supports free speech as a core educational value but draws a clear line at speech that constitutes a genuine threat or danger to communities.

Leadership and Future Outlook

• The president expresses optimism regarding the growing public interest in the museum's mission, noting that the institution faces no struggle in attracting care or attention.
• He voices concern over the current state of civilization, characterizing many global challenges as self-imposed failures of leadership accountability and core responsibilities.
• El-Kholy hopes for a future grassroots movement that improves upon the achievements of the current generation.
• His primary leadership advice is to avoid preoccupation with making mistakes, provided decisions are made with integrity and ownership of errors is demonstrated.
• He posits that forgiveness from colleagues and the public is more likely when leaders are generous in acknowledging and owning their mistakes.
• The president advises leaders to be conscious of their "extraordinary good fortune," noting that luck is often a prerequisite for success rather than just brilliance.