The San Diego Museum of Art laid off 11 employees on Wednesday, August 5, citing “rising operational costs,” the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The layoffs affected departments across the museum, including programs, development, and exhibitions, and leave the total staff count at 118. The news comes six months after the Balboa Park museum marked its 100th anniversary and amid a major renovation of its West Wing.
Kari Kovach, the museum’s chief operating officer, told the newspaper that “the current landscape” required the institution to re-evaluate its operations going forward. “Federal funding remains available to arts applicants, but is increasingly difficult to secure,” Kovach said.
San Diego’s cultural sector has faced financial turmoil at both the local and federal levels in recent months. Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget includes cutting the city’s arts funding from $13.8 million to $2 million—an 85 percent reduction—spurring protests and prompting a public-private push to raise $3 million for arts and culture. Meanwhile, President Trump’s gutting of federal grants in 2025 directly affected the San Diego Museum of Art, which received only a fraction of its National Endowment for the Humanities grant, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Staff cuts have become increasingly common among museums in California over the past year. In May, the Lucas Museum in Los Angeles eliminated 14 percent of its full-time positions, amid scrutiny over its steep admission price. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which operates the de Young and Legion of Honor, laid off 12 employees as attendance remained about 20 percent below pre-pandemic levels.
ARTnews has contacted the San Diego Museum of Art for comment.
