My letter of resignation
I believe this moment is bigger than we are, so I’m writing to take stock of where YBCA stands, and where I stand personally.
Two years ago, at a difficult moment for Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, you asked me to fill the vacant CEO position and to steward the organization through its pandemic recovery until we could find a leader for the long term. Despite little notice and having my hands full with my previous role at California College of the Arts, I accepted. Together, in the spirit of including everyone in our shared journey, we embarked on The Year of Care .
Care , it turned out, was crucial.
Very quickly it became clear we would need more than a year to address the systemic challenges left by the organization’s previous leadership: a chronic deficit fuelled by sparse programming, reliance on an ethically questionable ‘dream house raffle’ (in a state with a housing crisis), substantial scope creep away from the fiduciary responsibility of the organization (having misled the board and funders about what the organization was intending to do), and a near-allergy to accountability and collaboration, both within our walls, and with our external partners.
We have spent the last two years remedying these existential challenges. We’ve eliminated the raffle. We’ve re-centered on our duties as outlined in our agreement with the City to occupy and program our spaces. We’ve addressed this with surprised and disappointed funders along with current and former staff. We’ve gotten to the bottom of our systemic fiscal infrastructure challenges and begun to correct them. We’ve insisted on accountability in the form of actions as essential for the operations of any modern entity as an organizational plan connected to results and performance evaluations, tools actively avoided by the previous team, despite calls from prior boards to put them into place.
Our aim was to fulfill our duties to the organization, not bend it to our own personal wills. We have succeeded in so many ways.
Much of this has been extremely fun and rewarding. We are proud that we’ve begun to re-position YBCA as a more reliable partner, particularly with longtime relationships such as with Alonzo King/LINES.
We’ve successfully launched a membership program and have rental clients investing in our public art program. We’ve initiated collaborative arts district conversations with our neighbors, a real bright spot for a struggling downtown. We launched an incredible exhibit for BAN9 complete with reimagined public programming, extending heartfelt invitations to the public at large to come see what’s happening at YBCA. (In fact, many expressed how glad they were to “have you back” after disappearing for the last several years.) We are on the cusp of announcing a multi-organization, citywide arts internship program.
There is much more to come, all aimed at being a gathering space for creative expression that fosters meaningful connection for all.
Every step along the way, we have been in dialogue, sharing transparently with the full staff the challenges of care and change and organizational transformation. It hasn’t been a secret, though it has been met with surprising skepticism and at times, resistance, by our employees.
As you know directly from me as well as from news coverage, on Thursday, February 15th, unannounced and without discussion, several artists altered or covered their exhibited work with pro-Palestinian messages. Simultaneously - and in coordination - artists and activists distributed fliers with a series of untruthful accusations and making unreasonable demands on YBCA - including the insistence that we remove all “Zionist Board members and funders” of YBCA, demands they have not only not retracted but have actually repeated on social media since. Those demands are neither productive nor tolerable, they are a violation of our mission, and a breach of our agreement with the City of San Francisco. Since then, we’ve heard from artists and former and current employees repeating these demands, questioning the integrity of this organization as a community steward and of our integrity as individuals.
As you know, we have given a great deal of thought into the ways we could re-open the exhibit with the altered artworks as-is, including descriptive wall text, and a disclaimer that the perspectives expressed by each artist are their own and not necessarily those of YBCA.
Whether we do so or not, this incident has shown us there is still much work to do. Organizational transformation takes time and patience. YBCA requires years to fully re-establish itself, not months.
One of the bedrock elements of our organization is its lease with the city. A lease that specifies “Programming shall follow a format in which artists and the arts will be presented in a manner, which establishes the Cultural Facilities as a serious cultural institution within a first-class, mixed-use, downtown urban complex,” and that “there shall be no discrimination against or segregation of any person, or group of persons, on account of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender identity, age, marital or domestic partner status, sexual orientation or disability (including HIV or AIDS status) in the licensing (as permitted herein), use, occupancy, tenure or enjoyment of the Museum.”
In turn, we all agree to these conditions as employees, signing an acknowledgement of receipt of our Employee Manual, which says “YBCA is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to providing a workplace free from harassment or discrimination.” Our artists also agree to this, in their contracts with us, “Artist shall not discriminate against or engage in segregation of any person or group of persons on account of race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital or domestic partner status, political affiliation, or disability (including HIV or AIDS status) in connection with this Agreement or with the use of YBCA facilities.”
All of this has been tested, and, in many ways, violated by what occurred at the Love Letter to SOMA event. At some point, this organization needs to decide about the degree to which it adheres to these agreements and values, both to their letter, and to their spirit.
For me as an individual, the last weeks have been excruciating. Not just as a leader, but as a Jewish leader. The vitriolic and antisemitic backlash directed at me personally since that night nearly three weeks ago has made being here intolerable. I no longer feel safe in our own space, including due to the actions of some of our own employees.
As you all know, we have been preparing to launch a CEO search, and as I informed you, I was planning to transition out of this role. However, as a direct result of the events of February 15th and its unending repercussions, I am offering this official notice to immediately resign my position as CEO of YBCA.
I do so knowing full well that those involved in altering their work and bringing BAN9 to a standstill, as well as their vocal supporters, will claim victory over my leaving, as they did after their conduct on February 15th, and as they will for whatever actions they take next as they use YBCA as a political cudgel.
I strongly believe this is a huge loss for us all. Our mission is to support “creative expression that fosters meaningful connection for all.” Underline all . I understand the passions this issue evokes. I am horrified by the suffering of Palestinians. I disagree with the government of Israel on many fronts. It is a human tragedy on an unfathomable scale when thousands of people anywhere in our world are dying. No matter where they live, what they believe, or how they identify.
At the same time, I know many in the YBCA community strongly believe Israel has a right to exist, and “for all” includes us.
This begs the question of what the response would be by these same people to having an Israeli artist share their work at YBCA - whether their work touched on the conflict or not. Because the demand to boycott signed by some of our employees – asks us to ban artists based on their national origin. This is not only illegal, and in violation of our lease agreement (let alone our mission), it is immoral for an organization that believes the arts are a pathway to bettering and connecting individuals and society.
Finding norms of consent that make spaces like ours places of inspiration, understanding, tolerance, and solace will be a challenge for years to come. Our community benefits when some places remain sanctuaries. If we want as a society to move forward, we need spaces where everyone can enter into dialogue and build trust. We have offered that dialogue and should continue to do so, and get better at it. We have offered to be a space in which people who passionately hold divergent views can come together both to be heard and to listen. I have repeatedly implored that we hold space and grace for each other. I would prefer though to find ways to come together in community, respecting each other’s divergent perspectives, finding common ground where we can, and agreeing to disagree where we must. Others would rather shout and intimidate.
These questions are bigger than we are. As you all know, the polarization of our country is hurting everyone in it. We must find new ways forward. That begins with upholding the standards of the organizations that we lead, even (perhaps especially) when that is uncomfortable. We have the opportunity to make a choice here, to say what we believe with respect and consideration and the shared value that our institutions and our democracy require us to find ways to work together for the common good. I pray we choose to work to find what unites us rather than focusing on what divides us. I do think there are many ways up that mountain.
I have dedicated my career to building community and will continue to do so, endeavoring to raise the floor for everyone, and helping people feel seen along the way. I owe who I am to the communities that did that for me. I will not be part of further dividing our community. That is not who I am. That is not who I will let myself become.
You, as a board, have been the partners that every CEO should want. I am grateful to you, proud to have worked with you, and wish you the best of luck. I remain happy to advise you as you endeavor to put YBCA on her right course.