The Erie Art Museum Has Fired Its Director, One of the Youngest in the US, Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations

This story has been updated. 

Pennsylvania’s Erie Art Museum has fired
its director, Joshua Helmer, just three days after allegations of sexual
harassment were published in the New York Times. In
the wake of the investigation, a petition calling for his ouster
received more than 2,600 signatures and a statement of support for
the women who spoke out was signed by more than 200 current and
former employees of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Helmer
previously worked.

In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, the museum said:
“Joshua Helmer is no longer employed by the Erie Art Museum. The
museum appreciates, in advance, the community’s support as we move
forward.” The museum did not respond to an inquiry for more
information, and Helmer could not be reached.

One of the youngest museum directors in the country, 29-year-old
Helmer was hired at the Erie in 2018, despite several complaints
filed against him by women at the Philadelphia Museum, where he was
an assistant director in the education department.

Soon after the publication of the Times‘s story,
the Erie Museum said it had not been aware of the previous
complaints against Helmer when he was hired. “The Erie Art Museum
board of directors takes seriously all allegations of misconduct,”
the statement said, following an emergency meeting on Friday, as
reported on the local news site Go Erie. “Prior to
offering Mr. Helmer the position at the Erie Art Museum, the board,
with the help of an employment consultant, conducted due diligence
including background checks. No issues were identified during our
due diligence.”

Over the weekend, pressure on the museum to act
mounted. “In light of… Joshua Helmer’s abusive and predatory
conduct toward women, it is time to put pressure on the Erie Art
Museum to do the right thing and fire Joshua Helmer,” read
the Change.org petition. “Whatever benefit
this man provides the art museum pales in comparison to the damage
that he has done to women.”

Helmer resigned from the Philadelphia Museum in early 2018 under
undisclosed circumstances. (He told the Times he left
on his own accord.) As of this past November, he has been banned
from entering the museum premises. On Friday, several museum
staffers were seen wearing “We Believe Women” buttons. Employees
who work in public-facing jobs were asked by the administration to
remove the pins, but that decision was reversed later in the day,
according to the Philadelphia
Inquirer.

During Zachary Small and Robin Pogrebin’s four-month
investigation for the Times, nine women came forward
with complaints about Helmer’s behavior, including one at the Erie
Museum, who claims he called her “the most useless intern we have”
after she refused to meet with him at his home. The other
eight were at the Philadelphia Museum, where women allegedly filed
complaints against Helmer beginning in 2016.

The Erie Museum says it investigated the intern’s complaint
against Helmer, but found no cause for disciplinary action at the
time.

Helmer’s predecessor, John Vanco, who ran the museum for close
to 50 years, joined the chorus calling for the young director’s
ousting, according to local news outlet Your Erie. Vanco issued
a statement suggesting that the best form of resolution would be
“firing Mr. Helmer immediately and then quickly determining a
method for creating a new board.”

Update: This story has been updated on January 13 with
information about Helmer’s firing.

The post The Erie Art Museum Has Fired Its Director, One of
the Youngest in the US, Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations
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