Nikki Columbus, who is also an art editor, filed the claim in July 2018 with the New York City Commission on Human Rights. The settlement, made public by the law firm that represented Columbus, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady, includes financial compensation for Columbus as well an agreement by the contemporary art museum in Queens to update its written policies designed to protect women, working parents and other caregivers who apply for jobs or work there.
“What happened to me was wrong and clearly against the law,” Columbus said in a statement Tuesday. “I decided to speak out in order to protect other women at MoMA PS1 and beyond.”
The financial terms were not disclosed, but Columbus said she made it a point that her agreement not bar her from discussing other details of the case.
“That was really central to me, that I could talk about the importance of the suit,” she said.
Columbus said she has not been able to find full-time work since the PS1 offer, to be the museum’s curator of performance, was withdrawn.
Elizabeth Saylor, one of Columbus’ lawyers, said in a statement, “We hope that more people will follow Ms. Columbus’ lead and take advantage of the robust protections that NYC law provides.” Saylor is also co-chairwoman of the board of A Better Balance, a nonprofit that focuses on improving work-life balance conditions, and was a co-sponsor of the claim.
Her claim named MoMA PS1 and its chief curator Peter Eleey, chief operating officer Jose A. Ortiz and director Klaus Biesenbach, who has since left the museum.
“MoMA PS1 at all times has been compliant with the law and remains committed to supporting women and caregivers,” a museum spokeswoman said Tuesday. “We are satisfied with the agreement and are happy to put this matter behind us.”
MoMA PS1 has not named a performance curator; its performance program is overseen by two assistant curators. Biesenbach is now director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
Columbus said friends had worried that her claim might lead to her being ostracized professionally. But, she said, “I received many private messages of support from people across the art world, friends, people I didn’t know, including people who work at MoMA, thanking me for coming forward.”
Still, not many people voiced their support publicly, she said. “I think that reflects MoMA’s power within the art world, and the fact that there have been so few stories like mine,” she said.
Pregnancy discrimination is common across many industries, and even Planned Parenthood has been criticized for how it treats its pregnant employees. “I decided that I needed to call it out, and I think people weren’t expecting that,” Columbus said, “and I think that women themselves don’t realize that they can do that.”
She added: “I hope that this shows that it’s possible to hold the art world to account.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.