The group, founded in 2008 by artists Cindy Bernard and Diana Thater, has posted online a petition calling for specific changes at the Museum of Contemporary Art, following a round of controversial layoffs and the resignations of all four artists on the board of trustees.

The petition, posted on Facebook and change.org with a goal of 1,500 signatures, calls for the museum to reverse its plans and fill its chief curator position, which has been vacant since the departure of Paul Schimmel.

It also asks the institution to bring new artists onto its board to replace those who have resigned. The group is not calling for any board or staff resignations….

…This time around, the artists’ group says its catalyst was not an immediate financial crisis but its sense that the museum’s leaders have lost sight of its historical mission and its “internationally renowned record of exhibitions.” Along with its request for a new chief curator, the MOCA Mobilization petition asks the board of trustees to “examine their own role” in contributing to MOCA’s problems and “educate themselves in non-profit governance.”

Bernard says this message is not meant to be directed specifically at Broad, the board member who appears to be behind many of the museum’s recent decisions.

“This crisis at MOCA cannot be reduced to any single person. It’s not just a [director] Jeffrey [Deitch] problem, not just an Eli [Broad] problem, and it wouldn’t even be fair to blame the current board of trustees,” she said. “It’s a complex set of issues that has evolved over years and has involved many people.”