Dominic Ng: Joanne, we both live in the Pasadena area, which has been deeply affected by the Los Angeles fires. Both The Broad and East West Bank are part of the LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, which opened for applications on Monday, January 20. Could you share why this fund is so important?

Joanne Heyler: Times of crisis are when a community finds out what it’s made of, and the LA arts community’s response to the fire disasters is a beacon of care and action. Among the emergency recovery efforts is LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, which The Broad Art Foundation is supporting. This is an extraordinary initiative led by the Getty and East West Bank—thank you!—bringing together with incredible speed and generosity a national coalition of philanthropists and foundations. Together we built an emergency fund of more than $12 million in just one week, and it continues to grow. Artists and arts workers can get funds quickly to manage the immediate period after the loss of their homes, studios, and their livelihoods to the Eaton and Palisades fires. Those of us who care about the arts must make sure the creative community can stay here in LA, and thrive again, in order to help our city through this devastating moment with renewed resilience. And I’ll add—the fact that national and international foundations linked arms with us so quickly speaks to a recognition of the LA art scene’s global importance.

Dominic Ng: You are the Founding Director and President of The Broad museum here in Los Angeles. Why did you want to take on that role?

Joanne Heyler: I joined The Broad Art Foundation as a very young art historian and curator in the 1990s. As you know, Eli Broad was already a force in business and art back then. Like you and East West Bank, he wanted to do everything he could to place art at the center of LA’s civic identity, making it more available to the public. Never just a donor, or just a “power broker” as many described him, Eli was willing to do a lot of the hard work—politically, civically and promotionally—to fund and build more arts spaces for LA including The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and many others. He ruffled quite a few feathers along the way, but he got things done.

So the opportunity to run a museum within that ethos of getting things done, taking some calculated risks, being a bit bold—and above all, widening the audience for contemporary art—well, that was impossible to resist, when it came to directing The Broad museum.

It was also personally motivating to me because I grew up in Los Angeles. This region is important to me at a cellular level and I’ve always felt privileged to live in and seek to understand its vastly, infinitely evolving, diverse wholeness. 244 languages are spoken here! I felt very strongly that there were and are potential audiences and communities in our area who were not being truly invited into museum spaces and that needed to change.

At The Broad, I felt I could create a different type of museum at a perfect moment in LA, given the incredible Broad collection of art and the building we created to house it on Grand Avenue. It seems we were right, given that we have welcomed more than 6 million visitors to the museum so far, hosted hundreds of programs—with great thanks to East West Bank as our Leading Partner—and presented many important loan exhibitions.

To bring it back to our co-founders, Eli and Edye Broad, I’ll add that Eli often said, before it became widely accepted, that LA was a great art capital of the world, and being part of building on that vision has been one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my career. It’s not something I could have imagined when I first interviewed for an assistant curator role at The Broad Art Foundation more than three decades ago.

Dominic Ng: Yes, when I met Eli more than 20 years ago, I was inspired to see some of the personal artworks he had in his office, including by Jasper Johns and Cindy Sherman. For The Broad’s collection, you’ve continued to expand the range and diversity of featured artists. What inspires you in growing the collection now?

Joanne Heyler: Yes, Dominic! It was such a pleasure to meet you through Eli! Together, we’ve championed the idea that accessibility for a general audience can absolutely coexist with depth and excellence in scholarship. That philosophy continues to guide the growth of The Broad’s dynamic collection.

We developed uniquely deep holdings of postwar icons like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, as well as pivotal figures of the 1980s, such as Cindy Sherman and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Today, the collection continues to evolve in exciting ways. Since 2021, for instance, we’ve added 21 new artists, 17 of whom are artists of color. This intentional growth ensures that the collection remains vibrant and responsive to the cultural diversity of our time. LA’s own incredible diversity informs our commitment to acquiring, exhibiting, and programming works by artists whose practices engage with vital, complex issues—whether they relate to social justice, identity, or cultural history. Artists are powerful change-makers, and their voices matter deeply to our audiences.

Recently, we’ve added artists like Mickalene Thomas, Patrick Martinez, Cauleen Smith, and Martin Wong. Expanding access to these artists and their work is essential—not just for understanding the complexities of our world but also for inspiring visitors to see new possibilities within themselves.

Dominic Ng: Making art more accessible for young people has also been a specific priority. In 2017, The Broad launched the Diversity Apprenticeship Program (DAP) that East West Bank helps support. How has that been successful?

Joanne Heyler: Thanks to the support of East West Bank, The Broad has been able to provide meaningful access to both students and professionals, helping create lasting change within the art world.

DAP is an initiative to open career pathways for people from underrepresented communities, specifically in the museum field and the art handling and preparation sectors. By underrepresented, we mean individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color; women; immigrants; LGBTQIA+; people who have been formerly incarcerated; and foster youth. This program aims to break down barriers and offer opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. With a 100% graduation rate and 95% of graduates going on to secure jobs in the art world, this program highlights the transformative impact of providing meaningful career opportunities through an inclusive approach.

Also, regarding school age students, we have welcomed more than 65,000 through our school programs, offering them hands-on experiences and a deeper connection to the world of contemporary art. These programs provide valuable educational experiences but also foster a sense of belonging and possibility in the arts, making it more accessible for future generations.

Stay connected

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SoCal Wildfire Resources
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Apply via the Center for Cultural Innovation
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