Fran Levine brought a unique experience of diversity to St. Louis when she was hired as the president of the Missouri History Museum, which became effective April 15.
She left the top job at the New Mexico History Museum and Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, a plurality-Hispanic city in the Southwest. Her background is in anthropology, rather than history or museum studies, and she has been speaking Spanish in St. Louis every day since she arrived in this plurality-African American city.
She succeeded Bob Archibald, who resigned after a long, distinguished tenure that saw the museum dramatically increase both its national reputation and its relevance to the local African-American community.
Levine was steered to Archibald as a mentor more than a decade ago and visited him here in St. Louis in 2002. “The things I learned from him I have carried ever since – the importance of reaching from the museum into the community,” she said. “I learned inclusive practice from Bob and the staff here. Bob taught museum directors all over the nation about inclusive practice.”
At the same time, she knows Archibald resigned after his judgment in approving a museum real estate transaction involving former Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. put him under intense scrutiny from the Zoo-Museum District (ZMD) and the Post-Dispatch. This scrutiny led to criticism of the museum board’s oversight of the president, which resulted in a revised operating agreement that took effect in 2013.
Levine arrived in St. Louis well aware of both Archibald’s legacy in diversity and the privileges and responsibilities that come with operating an institution that relies significantly on public funding. “The public support of the ZMD District in St. Louis is the envy of the nation’s museum directors,” she said.
The St. Louis American talked to Levine about museums, diversity and public-private partnerships.
The St. Louis American: You came here from Santa Fe. How is diversity in St. Louis different compared to Santa Fe?
Fran Levine: In Santa Fe, diversity has a completely different composition. New Mexico has 19 Pueblos, two Apache reservations, two Navajo reservations and a population that is 49 percent Hispanic and only 1 percent African-American. It’s a population with very deep ties to the land base itself. The Hispanic community doesn’t feel like they crossed the border, they feel like the border crossed them. There is a different dialogue.
When I came here, what interested me was dealing with the immigrant populations – Bosnians, Hispanics – and also the African-American community, which has very, very deep roots and a very important history.
The American: Tell me more about your perceptions of the African-American community here.
Fran Levine: One thing that impressed me, the Missouri History Museum is like the living room of the community. When I came, we had just finished the first concert in the Twilight Tuesday series, and I loved the multi-generational African-American families coming here to listen to music, eat dinner, play dominos. I also got to see the comfort level the African-American community has in the museum.
We did a Juneteenth celebration with the Coleman Hughes Project, they play smooth jazz, in an event that was scheduled after our calendar came out. I was concerned whether anyone would come, but well over 300 people came. I see we have done a lot at the Missouri History Museum to honor African Americans with exhibits and programs, and I am honored that people feel at home in this museum.
The American: So you are aware of the work Bob Archibald did to include the black community in the museum.
Fran Levine: I give Bob tremendous credit. I came here in 2002 and sent several days with Bob and the museum staff, and the things I learned from him I have carried ever since – the importance of reaching from the museum into the community. Museums and arts and culture are not just for elites, they cross every economic level. I learned inclusive practice from Bob and the staff here. Bob taught museum directors all over the nation about inclusive practice. He was a pioneer of inclusion here at the Missouri History Museum, and that’s one of the things that brought me here.
The American: Do you feel you need to defend or extend inclusive practice at the museum?
Fran Levine: We always need to extend. We need to reach more Hispanics. When I ask people here about the Hispanic community, they say it’s very small, we don’t have very many. I speak Spanish in this town every single day. Very quickly I want to reach out into our community and tell people, “Your story has a place here.”
Bosnians have a huge story to tell here to the whole nation. I wasn’t here yet when the museum did a Sikh event, but I am anxious to meet them. I am anxious now get out across the community. They have me scheduled morning until night. If I haven’t got to your community yet, it’s because there are not enough hours in a day.
The American: In St. Louis, you know, “diversity” is often just a euphemism for “more black people.”
Fran Levine: I really want to break that code that “diversity” means “African Americans.” I also want to include the LBGT community. I want to look at accessibility. Accessibility means changing the way we tell museum stories. In more areas I want exhibits to have larger typefaces so it’s not so hard for people who are visually impaired (or old like me) to read exhibit labels. Inclusion and accessibility go together.
The American: What changes are needed at the museum?
Fran Levine: One thing that’s important for me is for exhibit texts to be multi-generational. Families need entry points into the text. Teens and children need to see that cool things are on exhibit and they need to use those cool things to talk to their teachers, caregivers and parents – we need to rally people around an artifact or point of view or document, not just put them in a case.
I don’t think we have been systematic about bringing African-American history into our collections. I am beginning the African-American Collection Initiative. Gwen Moore and Melanie Adams are working with us to identify some things we need to collect about civil rights history in St. Louis. Right now we don’t have enough artifacts and material culture to really tell African-American history here. Not just the story of African-American elites, but African-American neighborhoods and businesses. Exhibits are many years in the making, and we have to collect stories and artifacts now.
The American: The release about your hiring pointed out that your previous institution in Santa Fe was also a public-private partnership. Talk about the value and constraints of public-private partnerships.
Fran Levine: Public-private partnership are the only way museums and cultural institutions can succeed. So many people try to start small museums, and it’s very, very difficult to sustain them – they make it through the founder and occasionally the founder’s children. Thanks to public support, this institution has been here since 1866. The public support of the ZMD District in St. Louis is the envy of the nation’s museum directors. ZMD funding means we can accept artifacts, collections, oral history and know we can keep those material in perpetuity.
This gorgeous park the museum is part of – the preservation of the park also came about through a public-private partnership. Here in S.t Louis we have very concrete examples of successful public-private partnerships. It brings private funding, and philanthropic donors committed to particular stories or particular visions, to public institutions to work together to protect, preserve, perpetuate and sustain our institutions into the future. I believe in public-private partnerships, and I work every day of my life for the sustainability that comes with public-private partnerships.
