A coalition of artists, activist groups and former employees of the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) announced the launch of a major ten-week operation to denounce “elitism”, “racism” and the “misogyny” of the institution. The members of this collective wish neither more nor less to “abolish” the museum in its current form.
Baptized « Strike MoMA » (pun on the English verb « to strike » which means both ” to strike “ and “Bring down”), this operation will begin on April 9. Among the actions envisaged, the coalition is planning a series of public debates, writing and training workshops, agitprop and direct action campaigns. At the end of these ten weeks, a summary should show the way “Just transition to a post-MoMA future” who gives priority “To workers, local communities and artists rather than billionaires”.
This announcement, co-signed by thirteen associations, comes at a time when the MoMA has suffered for several months from severe criticism directed against some of the members of its board of directors. In an open letter to the museum director in October 2019, 220 artists, curators and academics requested that Larry Fink, CEO of the BlackRock company and a major patron of the museum, “Stop funding mass incarceration, the war effort and the destruction of the environment”. They specifically criticize Fink for his group’s involvement in the construction and management of private detention centers for migrants across the United States.
Last February, a new letter, co-signed in particular by Ai Weiwei and Nan Goldin, this time asked for the resignation of the chairman of the board of directors, Leon Black. It was the dissemination of a report confirming his business ties with Jeffrey Epstein after the latter’s first conviction for trafficking in minors in 2008 that set off powder. Black, also the owner of a version of Edvard Munch’s Scream on display in the museum’s galleries, had to step down as chairman and CEO of investment firm Apollo Global Management following the revelations. However, he did not wish to end his mandate at MoMA. Since then, demonstrations have followed one another in front of the famous building on 53rd Street.
« Strike MoMA » is now channeling and organizing this protest movement. A sign that a new step has been taken, the operation intends to go beyond questions of people: “Whether Black stays or goes, a consensus has emerged: much more than the identity of the members of its board of directors, the problem is MoMA itself”. Activists not only blame the institution for protecting its wealthy benefactors; they also have after his “History” and his character of « temple » from “White mythology”. In a national context still marked by the major anti-racist demonstrations of 2020, these accusations are not trivial.
The museum did not wish to answer our questions.
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