Climate activists shut down several exhibits at New York‘s Metropolitan Museum of Art over the weekend in a new approach and without touching any artworks.
On 8 July, around 40 environmental activists from Extinction Rebellion and Rise & Resist silently sat in front of more than eight artworks in the museum.
The demonstration aimed to challenge the “negative public discourse in which climate activists have been accused of ‘attacking’ irreplaceable artwork to underscore the pressing need for immediate action in addressing the climate and ecological crisis”, Extinction Rebellion said in a press release.
It was also partly in response to the charges pressed against climate activists Joanna Smith and Tim Martin, who allegedly smeared paint on a case surrounding a sculpture by Edgar Degas at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC on 27 April.
The weekend’s protest comes after myriad climate demonstrations at museums across the world, including Madrid’s Prado Museum, London’s National Gallery and Oslo’s National Museum of Art.
“The climate crisis has already surpassed its equivalent of a ‘Pearl Harbor’ event,” said Jack Baldwin, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion.
“It is severe, urgent, and calls for a response comparable to a wartime mobilization from all sectors of society. Cultural institutions are not exempt from this responsibility. In World War II, museums played a crucial role in educating the public, boosting morale, and supporting military efforts.”
“Urgent call for cultural institutions to step up”
“This is an urgent call for cultural institutions to step up to the occasion and safeguard our social fabric while there is still time,” added Emma Jacobs, another spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion.
“If we do not want to abandon humanity and the natural world, we must take action now. We can no longer afford to waste time on mere lip service. After all, there can be no art without life.”
Last month, environmental activists called on New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to drop its board chair, Marie-Josée Kravis.
Elsewhere, two climate activists smeared red paint on the protective glass on a painting by Claude Monet at Sweden’s National Museum in Stockholm.
