MoMA blocks protesters who planned to demonstrate inside
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, December 21, 2024


MoMA blocks protesters who planned to demonstrate inside
Activists demonstrate outside the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, April 30, 2021. Activists looking to call attention to the influence wealthy patrons have on MOMA's values and programming were blocked from demonstrating inside the museum on Friday afternoon. James Keivom/The New York Times.

by Zachary Small



NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The Museum of Modern Art blocked protesters from entering the museum Friday afternoon at the conclusion of a march designed to focus attention on what the demonstrators say is the undue influence of wealthy patrons on the cultural institution’s values and programming.

The museum said it was forced to shut the doors when the protesters attempted to force their way into the museum. “In response, Museum security personnel closed the entrance in accordance with established safety protocols,” the museum said in a statement.

The museum statement said two guards were injured by protesters in the fracas. One of the protesters said she was punched by a guard.

Last week, organizers of the protest had addressed a letter to MoMA’s director, Glenn Lowry, calling the museum “a system of power and wealth that harms people” while criticizing several board members for their financial investments. Chief among those named was billionaire Leon Black, who announced in March that he would leave his position as the museum’s chair after widespread pressure from artists and activists over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“We want to take over these institutions; they do not belong to the oligarchs,” Amin Husain, one of the demonstration’s organizers, told a crowd of about 40 activists before marching from Columbus Circle to the museum.

Husain had previously helped to organize nine weeks of protests at the Whitney Museum, which ended with the resignation of a veteran board member, Warren B. Kanders, who activists argued was not fit to serve as a trustee because his company, the Safariland Group, sold law enforcement and military supplies, including tear gas.




The Strike MoMA campaign, which is scheduled to last for 10 weeks through June 11, involves a coalition of activist groups that call themselves the International Imagination of Anti-National Anti-Imperialist Feelings. Their goals involve dismantling the museum’s hierarchy, which they accuse of burnishing the reputations of wealthy donors through art.

Before the demonstration, a MoMA spokesperson had said that protesters, if they had tickets and passed a COVID-19 screening protocol, would be allowed inside the museum’s lobby.

In an email to the staff earlier in April, Lowry said that the museum “respects the right to protest,” but added, “I do not agree that dismantling MoMA, or any museums, serves the best interests of the public.”

During the protest, visitors to the museum stood in the lobby, staring at the confrontation on the street with concern and confusion. Two people who identified themselves as museum employees walked out of the building, saying they were frustrated because museum officials had said at a staff meeting earlier this week that the protesters would be allowed inside.

“These attempts to stop us are futile,” said Shellyne Rodriguez, a former MoMA educator for eight years who is now affiliated with the protest group. “What Glenn Lowry has done is put his employees between a rock and a hard place.”

The museum said in its statement that the protesters had shown “complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of our staff and visitors” by trying to “force their entry, en masse, into the museum.”

© 2021 The New York Times Company










Today's News

May 2, 2021

Germany sets out plans to return Benin bronzes

Eli Broad, who helped reshape Los Angeles, dies at 87

Swedish orienteering enthusiast finds Bronze Age treasure trove

After 500 years, an ancient bronze hand is rejoined to a finger

Olympia Dukakis, Oscar winner for 'Moonstruck,' dies at 89

MoMA blocks protesters who planned to demonstrate inside

Mummy-to-be: Pregnant embalmed body identified in Poland

Bill Graham, Family Dog, Grateful Dead posters & more go up for bid at Turner Auctions + Appraisals

The vanished glamour of midcentury print media

The New York Philharmonic is coming. In a shipping container.

David Zwirner opens an exhibition of new works by British artist Rose Wylie

Virtual platform created in honor of Okwui Enwezor

Dallas Museum of Art opens first US solo museum exhibition for Julian Charrière

form & concept presents an exciting new body of work by interdisciplinary artist Nikesha Breeze

Casey Kaplan opens an exhibition of works by Igshaan Adams

Rossini at the drive-in, as San Francisco Opera returns

'Romeo and Juliet' meets the hot vax summer

Review: Trisha Brown's dances find a home at Judson Church

Renée Fleming was back onstage. Here's what happened first.

Guggenheim presents 'Christian Nyampeta: Sometimes It Was Beautiful'

Rewild: A solo exhibition by Orlanda Broom opens at Grove Square Galleries

Newlands House presents an intimate retrospective of Joan Miró's work

Roberto Torres Mata is the Chazen Museum of Art's 2021 Panczenko MFA Prize winner

Solo show by Hattie Malcomson on view at New Art Projects

Where to get the perfect props for your product shooting?




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
(52 8110667640)

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Houston Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful