SPOTLIGHT ON:

MONETTA WHITE

Museum Director, Community Outreach Advocate, Art Patron, Foodie

Monetta White’s day job is the Executive Director of the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, and combined with her involvement in the city’s food scene and as an avid art patron and donor, to being on the board of an incredible array of the most important and illustrious organizations and charitable initiatives in the city, she is a true force of nature.

Tell us about your journey and how you got to where you are today and what it is that you are doing today.

My journey with MoAD started from the Museum’s beginning.

In 2005, my husband David Lawrence and I were part of building MoAD from an idea by our community into a museum in the downtown San Francisco arts corridor. We were founding donors to the capital campaign that made MoAD possible. As a native of San Francisco, I was proud that MoAD would be built in our city, and I knew that our city needed MoAD.

My involvement with the museum deepened in 2017 when I became the Chair of the Afropolitan Ball, MoAD’s annual gala. The experience of working closely with MoAD’s artists, creatives, staff, and like-minded donors inspired me to become a member of the Board of Directors. I wanted to invest more of my time and resources and help to more intimately realize the possibilities of the museum. Soon after, in August 2019, I was asked to step in as the Interim Executive Director. In January 2020, I accepted the permanent position of CEO/Executive Director. I was thrilled, inspired, and excited by the opportunity to lead MoAD and to help define the next stage of growth and maturity for the institution.

I had always been an entrepreneur in San Francisco but, alongside my business, I was also a lover of the arts. Whether it was the visual arts, music, or dance, I was always involved and engaged in Black arts and culture. The role of CEO/Executive Director at a contemporary art museum has aligned my entrepreneurial spirit and experience with my passion for Black art and culture. My work at MoAD has helped me truly find what I love doing: uplifting and connecting Black artists throughout the world.

Who/what inspires/excites you the most today and for the future?

I am continuously inspired by the artists that I meet on this journey of leading MoAD. Artists inspire me every day – often when I need it most. Who they are, what they reflect, and their bravery are revelatory inspiration. Artists are problem solvers. What the world needs is creative solutions to complicated problems. Artists know no limits. It is amazing.

Alongside the many talented artists we feature, MoAD staff inspire me day in and day out, today and for the future. Professionals who choose a career in the arts industry – curators, writers, educators, arts administrators – are investors in the arts. These are professionals who keep the art machine, the art scene, moving forward. Again, it is amazing. And my staff at MoAD are particularly heroic. Their investment of time, intellect, and creativity makes MoAD what it is. They help me see the possibilities for our artists and our institution. They help me see what we as a community and an organization can do, and how MoAD’s role of representation, to and for the world, is part of a dynamic and critically needed shift in historical perspectives.

Community and giving back is a huge part of who you are and what you do. Where does this come from? Why is this important?  

The feeling of responsibility I take on for my community comes from my great-grandmother. I come from a long line of strong women who valued giving to others and made sure that this was instilled in our family values. My great-grandmother could not let a visitor leave empty-handed. To anyone who visited anytime, she would always send off with something to leave with. She could not let you leave empty-handed! I learned from a young age that giving is powerful and that it feels good. Giving is a reward to the giver! I was raised to give and that has transferred over into everything I do. I was raised to think about what I could do to make it better for those around me and my community. This is important because it takes a village to create a better world. Everyone has a role to play.

Which artists/projects that you have worked with/on in the past excited you the most? 

All the artists that MoAD features have excited me. Although, I must admit that I continue to be particularly awed and excited by Amoako Boafo and Billie Zangewa. MoAD had the pleasure and honor to present the first solo museum exhibitions in the United States for each of these artists from the African continent. These exhibitions, representing some of the most renowned work of the African Diaspora in the world, reopened MoAD after being closed for 20 months due to the COVID pandemic. These artists each chose MoAD, a Black, African Diasporic-led institution, for their US debut. Wow. That meant, and continues to mean, a lot. These two artists will always hold a special place for me.

Which new artists or upcoming projects are you most excited about? 

So much! I am excited about our upcoming spring exhibition. Black Venus is a powerful exhibition, including eighteen artists whose work focuses on the legacy of Black women in visual culture, curated by a powerful woman, Andrea Emilife. The exhibition is a celebration of Black beauty, the many faces of Black femininity and the shaping of Black women in the public consciousness - then and now.

MoAD’s Emerging Artist Program (EAP) has an impressive record of identifying exciting artists who are ready to step into full-fledged careers as professional, international artists. This year we have featured Cynthia Aurora Brannvall, Richard-Jonathon Nelson, Trina Michelle Robinson, Ashley Ross. Last year we had Sydney Cain! In the past we presented Chanel Stone. The list goes on. So many exciting new artists.

What has it been like trying to run a cultural center that is based on in-person visitors over the past year? 

There is no doubt that it has been challenging to get up and running after COVID. We still need to focus on strategies to get visitors back into the museum to return to pre-COVID numbers. It is amazing to see art back on the walls and to see people coming through our doors and wandering our galleries again. We are seeing more and more long-time friends visiting and new friends arriving.

Being an art museum, we are based on in-person experiences. But the virtual reality during the COVID shutdowns also opened new doors for us. The “globalness” of the African Diaspora emerged through a forced digital experience. As a non-collecting institution, we benefit from more flexibility in programming and quickly adapted to virtual engagement with artists and audience. In the first few weeks of the pandemic we had new members dialing in from countries across Africa, South America, and Europe in numbers we had never seen in person.

Now we want to maintain our Digital Diaspora connections, while also encouraging in-person engagement at the museum.

Do you have a work uniform (either for real life, or a zoom uniform!) or signature style piece? 

Working in the arts, I am surrounded by inspirational and fantastic style. I love it. My signature style piece would be my sneakers. I run up and down the stairs at MoAD and across the city for meetings every day, so I wear cool sneakers for comfort and style. I also love fabulous, statement eyeglasses. I like to wear my signature pieces in a way that demonstrates who I am: hard working and ready for any situation that arises, visionary with an eye for the future, always strategizing, and ready for fun.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

The advice that I would give to my younger self is to follow your passion. If I had followed my own choice, I would have been in the arts right out of school, but I was not encouraged to follow that path. I wish I would have stuck with my instincts and followed my passion instead of listening to others. Luckily, I ended up in the arts, but I feel I would have gotten here faster if I would have listened to my instincts.

For more information please contact info@entouragec.com