The Brooklyn Museum stands on land that is part of the unceded, ancestral homeland of the Lenape (Delaware) people. As a sign of respect, we recognize and honor the Lenape (Delaware) Nations, their elders past and present, and future generations. We are committed to addressing exclusions and erasures of Indigenous peoples, and confronting the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism in the Museum’s work.

We hold ourselves to the highest standards of excellence in collections, exhibitions, programs, and visitor experience. Our work seeks to expand and challenge the traditional art historical canon by including multiple perspectives. We strive to create opportunities for transformative engagement with our collections through inspirational exhibitions, programs, and educational offerings, and to welcome all visitors with respect.

We promote perspectives that expand the stories we tell and engage diverse audiences in conversations that broaden the way we see ourselves, the world, and its possibilities. The Museum should be a place where people see themselves with dignity and each other with empathy, care, and respect. As a public, civic institution, we believe it is our mandate to contribute to the advancement of society with a commitment to true connectedness and diversity. Central to this belief is our commitment to exploring, understanding, and appreciating our differences, while acknowledging how structural inequities and systems of oppression impact our work.

We believe that the open and free exchange of ideas among people of diverse beliefs, cultures, and experiences stimulates new understandings, expands insights into our shared humanity, and promotes social generosity. We also recognize that differing views may sometimes be met with discomfort, dissent, and even conflict, and we embrace our public, civic role as an important conduit for open sharing and learning.

We celebrate the cultural vibrancy of our local communities and work to help build meaningful relationships that strengthen and deepen them. Believing that through innovation and action there is hope, we champion the powerful roles art and artists can play in our communities, both inside and outside the Museum’s walls. We endeavor to bring attention to issues of social justice through our programming and partnerships, amplifying the voices of those who have been historically marginalized, and hope to inspire action and impact.