Climate activists have been arrested at the National Museum of Art in Oslo after trying to glue themselves to Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream (1893).
According to Norway’s NTB news agency (via Sky News), two activists attempted to glue themselves to the artwork as a third person filmed.
The protesters are from Norwegian organisation Stopp Oljeletinga (Stop Oil Exploration). “The glue didn’t stick this time,” the group wrote on Twitter.
“But we won’t give in until the government meet our demands,” it added. “We want to live. Oil exploration destroys the futures of everyone and everything we love. Take action now!”
Protest at Oslo’s National Museum of Art
The latest demonstration comes during the Cop27 climate change summit in Egypt. “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator,” UN secretary general António Guterres said at the conference (via The Guardian).
Climate activists have also glued their hands to two paintings by Francisco Goya in the Prado Museum and thrown soup on Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ at the National Gallery.
Elsewhere, protestors threw pea soup over Van Gogh’s ‘The Sower’ in Rome, and activists tried to glue themselves to Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ at the Mauritshuis.
Demonstrations during Cop27 in Egypt
Following a statement from Icom Germany, the International Council of Museums said it “sees the choice of museums as a backdrop for these climate protests as a testament of their symbolic power and relevance in the discussions around the climate emergency”.
“Icom calls attention to the impact that these demonstrations could have on the work of museum professionals and volunteers who strive to protect and promote these valuable items of heritage for the enjoyment of the public,” it added.
Icom said it “wishes for museums to be seen as allies in facing the common threat of climate change”.
Image: National Museum
