100 signatures reached
To: The David and Reva Logan Foundation
We Demand a New Board of Directors at Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum
In January, 2025, the Executive Board of Hamilton Wood Type Museum assumed direct control of day-to-day operations, an extraordinary overreach for a governing board. Rather than appointing an interim director to ensure continuity, the Board chose to micromanage staff, mistreat workers, and impose harmful leadership decisions. We call for the resignation of the entire Hamilton Wood Type Museum Board.
Demands for Change
Demands for Change
To restore trust in the museum and its stated mission and values:
· Immediate Resignation of the Executive Committee
· Full Board Resignation: The scale of these failures reflects systemic issues under the watch of the entire board, not just the failure of the Executive Committee, necessitating a complete leadership change.
· Formation of a Recruitment Committee: To guide this transition, we are confident that a recruitment committee can be quickly assembled from Hamilton’s stakeholders, artists, donors, and local advocates. This committee will be responsible for vetting and appointing new board members who reflect both the local community and the museum’s national significance, ensuring that leadership is rooted in equity, accountability, and care.
· Structural Reforms:
o Independent audits of decision-making processes.
o Staff inclusion in governance to prevent future overreach.
o Mechanisms to honor donor intentions and protect funded programs.
Path Forward
Path Forward
We, the undersigned, urge the current Board to resign in full and support this stakeholder-led transition. The museum's survival depends on reclaiming trust through accountable leadership.
Why is this important?
Key Issues with Board Actions
· Cancellation of Artist Residencies: The Board canceled fully funded residencies, disregarding restricted donor and grant commitments. This breached trust with funders and contradicted the museum’s mission and values.
· Impact on Artist Ibé Crawley: In August, just one week before her scheduled residency, artist Ibé Crawley was abruptly notified that her residency had been canceled without any detailed rationale. Crawley proposed covering the daily facility costs herself to proceed with her work and requested a direct conversation with the Executive Board president, Tracy Honn; both overtures were declined. This loss extended beyond individual impact, halting a project that would have utilized the museum's unique resources and contributed to its legacy of artist collaborations. This unjust decision became the tipping point for the letterpress and book arts community.
· Lack of Transparent Communication: The Board’s responses, two Instagram posts and one email, cited vague “logistical errors” language that shifts blame onto museum staff and volunteers while avoiding accountability or transparency and without addressing Crawley’s case directly. The Board president, Tracy Honn, later contacted Crawley but has not responded to her follow-up requests, further evading accountability.
· Community Backlash and Event Cancellation: In protest, 60% of Wayzgoose presenters and instructors, along with most attendees, withdrew from the annual event. The Board then canceled Wayzgoose entirely, citing transitional issues but offering no clear plan to rebuild trust or engagement, jeopardizing vital revenue and relationships.
Consequences for the Museum
The actions of the Executive Board undermine Hamilton Wood Type Museum’s credibility, its relationships, and its commitments to equity and inclusion. We call for accountability, transparency, and structural change to ensure that Hamilton remains a space of trust, creativity, and justice.