Charleston’s African American Museum Furloughs All Staff
The institution cited “a shift in the political and funding environment” and said staggered furloughs would help avoid layoffs.
Along the Charleston waterfront, the International African American Museum (IAAM) has furloughed all its staff — including leadership — due to challenging financial conditions.
In a statement shared with Hyperallergic, the museum, which opened in 2023, said that it was “navigating a shift in the political and funding environment” and added that the furlough was intended to reduce expenses and avoid layoffs while it restructured its fundraising model. Across all departments, the 20-day furlough period will be staggered between July 1 and December 31 to ensure the museum remains open to the public six days a week.
“We know this affects our employees and their families in real ways,” the museum's statement continued. “Keeping this team together and supporting them through difficult times is why we chose this path rather than deeper cuts.”
Museum President and CEO Tonya Matthews told the city's Post and Courier that IAAM was operating on a 10 to 20 percent deficit, and that it had also lost some federal funding.
“We've watched shifts in state-level funding and in the priorities of corporate and institutional donors,” Matthews explained. “It’s important for us to be open with our community about the challenging situation we are going through.”
After over 20 years of planning, the IAAM opened in June 2023 at Gadsden's Wharf — the site where at least 100,000 enslaved Africans first arrived in the United States. On top of sponsored events, the museum features rotating art and historical exhibitions, and maintains permanent displays devoted to different facets of regional, national, and diasporic Black history. These include the stories of the Gullah Geechee and others who were enslaved at Carolina Gold rice plantations, as well as the interlaced identities, traditions, and cultural specificities that traversed from Africa to the US.
Matthews told the Post and Courier that the furloughs will help give the museum time to pursue new financial strategies and revenue efforts, adding that the institution is “reinventing” itself in the philanthropy landscape.
The furloughs in Charleston are a symptom of nationwide funding challenges in the arts and culture institution sphere. A 2025 survey from the American Alliance of Museums found that among more than 500 US museum respondents, over a third reported having their federal grants or contracts cut. Two-thirds of those who lost federal support reported that the funds were not replaced by sponsorships, donations, or foundation grants.
