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Inside the meltdown at a pillar of Chicago's black civic life

By Lisa Bertagnoli June 01, 2018

In the latest blow to one of Chicago's most storied institutions, artist Theaster Gates Jr. has resigned from the
board DuSable Museum of African American History. The museum's gala, originally scheduled for June 23 and
its major fundraiser, has been postponed until fall. And MacArthur Foundation, one of the museum's longtime
supporters, has dispatched a third-party firm to DuSable to help the museum with finances and capacity
building.

Gates is just one of several high-profile board members (including Chance the Rapper, his father Ken Bennett
and Eric Whitaker) who have departed in recent weeks. People familiar with the DuSable say its problems stem
from mismanagement and from precarious finances, as well as board and staff instability. None of the board
members would comment. The sources, who asked for anonymity, say the museum is using all available funds
to meet payroll, does little fundraising outside the annual gala, and that CEO Perri Irmer excels at creating
exciting plans for the museum but falls short of management skills.

Irmer, in an interview at the museum, says that the gala has been postponed because its chair, Wilbur
Milhouse, was one of seven board members who resigned May 25. She says DuSable's main source of funding
is $1.4 million annually in tax appropriations from the city, due to DuSable's status as one of the Museums in
the Parks. She confirmed that the museum does "sometimes" live payroll to payroll, and that the museum is
"historically underfunded." She says the museum cannot afford a full-time development person so it has
outsourced fundraising to P2, a Chicago-based consulting firm.

Irmer has reduced the DuSable's deficit from $1.2 million in 2016 to $300,000 in 2017. But DuSable's financial
situation is concerning enough that earlier this year, MacArthur Foundation, which has granted $1.956 million to
DuSable since 1981, sent in a third-party firm to help the museum with its finances. The assistance is ongoing,
Irmer says. "It is a capacity-building exercise and we can certainly use some help," Irmer says, saying that until
April, DuSable hadn't had a chief financial officer for 18 months. "We are welcoming that activity, that assistance
to help us with some of our financial record-keeping issues," she says. Veronica Milton, current CFO, joined
DuSable in April.

Despite its storied history, DuSable's board, which has a give-or-get of $10,000 annually, lacks the board-based
fundraising power of other cultural institutions, say the Art Institute of Chicago. When asked why the DuSable
board does not include some of the city's most powerful African American businesspeople, Irmer took issue with
the question. "We serve all people and it's about educating everyone through African American art, history and
culture," she says. Irmer says she is in the process of repopulating the board, now at 13 members, and that the
museum is in a "rebuilding" mode. "We now have a unified board," she says. When asked why so many board
members left at one time, Irmer replied: "I can't answer that question."

DuSable was founded in 1961 by artist and activist Margaret Burroughs, her husband, and six other people,
including three Jewish men. It is the nation's first African American museum independent of a university.

Imer and DuSable face one more problem, a retaliatory-discharge suit brought in March by Leslie Guy, former
DuSable chief curator. Guy, who was dismissed last June, alleges the museum misspent grant funds and was
four months behind in payments to a storage facility that holds 70 percent of the museum's collection. The suit
also says that Irmer defamed Guy by questioning her ability to do her job in the presence of coworkers, artists,
potential donors and others. Guy also alleges that Irmer called her a "fucking bitch." DuSable executives deny
Guy's allegations and decline to comment on pending litigation. The museum has filed a motion to dismiss the
suit.

Irmer joined DuSable in 2014 and makes $179,814 a year, according to DuSable's 2016 tax filing, the most
recent available. She was formerly head of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority. Irmer's plans for DuSable

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include a $25 million remodel of its historic, Daniel Burnham-designed Roundhouse that will turn the structure
into a gallery and revenue-producing event and retail space. "This will be our moneymaker," Irmer said as she
led a reporter on a tour of the 65,000-square-foot building. However, Irmer could not say what the plan is for
raising the remodeling funds.

More:

Chance the Rapper departs DuSable board in shakeup

Is the DuSable Museum ready for the Obama Center?

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