This is a really great post. That newspaper article was wild. (I wonder why they mentioned how much the paintings are insured for... 🤔) It was interesting to note my own reactions as I read about this exhibition -- for example, how many of the "new ideas" you pulled out still seem new/uncommon today! How many current art museums would let you vote on your favorite paintings? How many museums have extended evening hours?

You ask when we'll move beyond "providing access" and "promoting education," but it seems to me that there are so many institutions that are still working to achieve just that. (Though this doesn't mean that institutions still shouldn't reexamine their missions and rethink who their audiences are and how they see themselves in relation to them.)