The credibility of ten cultural institutions under the auspices of the Louisiana State Museum (LSM) system is on the line. The system was last accredited in 2011, and its status is currently under review by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). A decision regarding LSM’s accreditation will be made sometime next year.
LSM is a satellite network of museums across the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans Jazz Museum, the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum and several historic houses fall under LSM’s jurisdiction. The non-profit AAM advocates for museums of all types, providing standards-based assessments and requiring its member institutions to undergo reaccreditation every ten years or so. AAM is the only such entity in the US, and its accreditation is considered crucial to the perceived legitimacy of a cultural institution.
The problem stems from the fact that it is not immediately clear whether LSM—overseen by Louisiana’s lieutenant governor (who also appoints its director) and funded in part by taxpayer dollars—meets the professional standards necessary for AAM reaccreditation.
LSM has been subject to much ire and chagrin in recent years, stemming largely from a 2023 audit that found a poor work culture and persistent conflation of political and public interests by the entities charged with its oversight and management. The audit specifically highlighted low morale and high turnover among its employees, poor record-keeping, a lack of public transparency and a failure to maintain a strategic plan or a detailed budget.
LSM is now facing a lawsuit that stems from a loan made to the museum system more than a century ago. A descendent of a collector who had entrusted LSM with hundreds of heirlooms and historical artefacts, partly returned to the family in 2016, alleges that it failed to give back the entirety of the holdings, which he values at around $2m. This follows a similar case in which LSM declined to deaccession a group of paintings acquired under dubious conditions from a Black collector in the early 1900s.
Revolving-door leadership
LSM’s failures have largely been blamed on insufficient funding in the wake of state budget cuts. The museum system has also had inconsistent leadership in recent years, with directors and interim directors turning over a total of 11 times between 2004 and 2023, often following conflict with the lieutenant governor. In 2017 LSM’s then interim director, Tim Chester, resigned with a fiery letter explicitly citing the interference of Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, who has now served in the role for almost ten years.
As a result of its revolving door in leadership, LSM recently focused its efforts on hiring a permanent director. Rebecca Mackie, who previously worked as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, was selected for the LSM position last year. (She is currently acting director, pending state senate confirmation.)
The New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old US Mint is one of ten museums the Louisiana State Museum system is responsible for
Louisiana Historical Center, courtesy Louisiana State Museum
Subsequently, LSM’s board of directors began working with Deveney—a New Orleans-based marketing agency with prior experience managing communications following both Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill—to develop a comprehensive strategic plan to guide the museum through improvements that address the findings of the 2023 audit. Working with LSM’s executive management officer, Mackie recently developed an institutional code of ethics with which to grow public trust, encourage professionalism and ensure the museums’ accessibility.
But in board and committee meetings, Mackie has acknowledged budget errors and the continued turnover of staff, citing at least three additional departures from the museum system in recent months. Given the conflated interests of LSM and those of the lieutenant governor, the museum system could be vulnerable to political influence. After all, Mackie is an appointee of Nungesser’s office.
“Politics are what politics will be,” Mackie says. “And as long as there’s a state museum system that is part of state government, politics will always be a part of it. The challenge is going to be to, as always, focus on what’s important for the collection and making sure that the people have access to this history.”
Mackie did not provide a 2025 budget to The Art Newspaper, and AAM cited confidentiality following a request for LSM’s core documents. Nungesser—a Republican who in 2017 implored President Donald Trump to save Louisiana’s Confederate monuments—did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
It is unclear whether the issues raised in LSM’s 2023 audit will impact the museum system’s reaccreditation prospects. But continued challenges with staffing and goal-setting do not bode well for its wellbeing. Nor do they reflect the professional standards for accreditation outlined by AAM, which explicitly highlights the need for a “clear and formal division of responsibilities between the governing authority and any group that supports the museum”. (LSM’s board members are nominated by the system’s member organisations but appointed by the lieutenant governor.)
Eroding legitimacy?
Museum accreditation in the US is largely symbolic, serving mostly to establish cooperation and collaboration between the institutions that meet AAM’s qualifications. Should LSM fail in its bid for reaccreditation, this is not likely to affect its collections, as they are the property of the State of Louisiana. However, losing accreditation has the ability to further erode LSM’s legitimacy in the eyes of the public, especially following the scandals of recent years.
“I would find it challenging for the Louisiana State Museum to be reaccredited, and the primary reason for that is that the director is a political appointee,” says Robert R. Macdonald, a former director of LSM who oversaw the system when it first attained AAM accreditation in 1974. Years later, Macdonald served as the president of the American Association of Museums, the predecessor to the AAM.
As for the potential consequences of a failure to achieve reaccreditation on LSM’s part, Macdonald sees the whole of the museum system as remaining “a very provincial institution subject to the manipulation of elected officials”. He adds: “It’s a shame.”
