Creative Collaboration or Corporate Conquest? A Study of the Art Exhibition Programs of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America

In the past decade, there has been a marked increase in the visibility of corporate collections on display at small to midsize art museums. Detractors of this type of collaboration claim that these relationships supplant the role of a museum's curators. In the context of the current economic downturn and the ensuing decline in contributions from previously reliable individual and governmental sources, the funding landscape for art museums has changed. Small to midsize art museums, institutions with fewer resources than their larger counterparts, have become increasingly open to hosting pre-curated exhibitions of corporate art collections. What does each party except from this relationship? Do museums risk decreasing their autonomy or compromising ethical and professional standards by such associations? What are the assets and liabilities to both parties of such a relationship?