Sixteen local weather activists have been arrested after trying to protest in a single day at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City tonight, September 15, in keeping with advocacy teams Climate Defenders and New York Communities for Change (NYCC). The activists have been amongst roughly 50 demonstrators who staged actions at the museum earlier within the day to sentence MoMA’s ties to non-public fairness agency Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), which has invested closely in fossil gas tasks. Henry Kravis, co-founder of KKR, is the husband of MoMA Board Chair Marie-Josée Kravis; the couple has donated tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to the museum, which named its fourth-floor performance space after them. MoMA closed its foyer for over two hours after activists blocked the establishment’s ticketed entrances.
Alicé Nascimento of NYCC informed Hyperallergic that the group arrived round 3:20pm and refused to go away, demanding that MoMA Director Glenn Lowry meet with Wet’suwet’en First Nation leaders. As within the June protest, individuals of at present’s motion hailed from a spread of local weather activism teams together with Extinction Rebellion, the Climate Organizing Hub, and Honor the Earth. It additionally included members of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation in Canada, whose territory has been threatened by the development of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, which is partially funded by KKR.
The New York City Police Department confirmed in an e-mail to Hyperallergic that 16 protesters have been taken into custody for trespassing at roughly 9:35pm. The Museum of Modern Art has not responded to Hyperallergic’s request for remark.
Beginning at 1:15pm at present, a bunch of round 50 protesters gathered exterior of MoMA’s 53rd Street entrance, chanting “KKR, shame on you, we deserve a future too” and “Hey, ho, Coastal Gas has got to go!” It’s the second local weather motion at MoMA in current months — in early June, a bunch of activists crashed the museum’s annual profit gala, additionally demanding Kravis’s resignation.
Two Wet’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs delivered speeches, each alleging that KKR “kills water, kills wildlife, and kills our way of life.” At the top of their speeches, the 2 chiefs walked towards the museum and handed a letter to a safety guard demanding Kravis’s resignation. They left in a black Escalade parked at the curb.
“People in this building are responsible for the climate chaos,” Gina Peltier, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa who flew in from Michigan, informed Hyperallergic. She is an organizer for Honor the Earth and defined the Coast Gaslink pipeline’s effect on water quality. “We’re hoping that holding this rally today will gather people’s attention to the tragedy that’s unfolding in front of our eyes.”
In response to Hyperallergic‘s inquiry, a spokesperson for KKR despatched the next assertion: “We are committed to investing in a sustainable energy transition, one that supports a shift to a clean energy future while recognizing the ongoing importance of supplying the conventional energy needed for well-being, security and economic growth around the world today.”
The protesters disbanded earlier than 2pm however reassembled later, round 3:20pm, contained in the museum foyer. They sat in a line to dam the entrances, main chants of “Hey MoMA, get off it, put the planet over profit” and “Henry Kravis is a climate criminal.” The blockade continued with a drumming efficiency and louder chanting — “Drop KKR, MoMA, drop KKR!” yelled the activists.
On MoMA’s second degree, a bunch of protesters dropped a banner with the identical slogan. Nearby on the bottom ground, others staged a “die-in” whereas Refik Anadol’s AI set up “Unsupervised” (2023) performed behind them, draping the room in an eerie orange mild.
Within 25 minutes, the museum had closed entry to the foyer. The activists continued undeterred. Security officers filed guests down an escalator to a second exit. The protesters sat solely ft away from the underside of the escalator as confused museum patrons descended. In an particularly telling interplay, a customer requested a guard whether or not Kravis was a “fossil guy.” “Well, he owns a lot of companies,” the safety officer responded. The blockade continued till the museum closed at 5:30pm, with a smaller group remaining on premises the place the 16 activists have been ultimately arrested later within the night.
Last night time, a local weather protest at CitiBank ended with the arrests of at least 24 folks. This and the MoMA demonstration are a part of a string of local weather actions in New York that began at BlackRock on Wednesday, September 13 upfront of Climate Week within the metropolis. According to a press launch, the demonstrations have culminated in a complete of 46 arrests at all three establishments.
“Instead of meeting with Indigenous leaders, MoMA leadership decided to [have] 16 activists arrested and shut down their own museum,” Climate Organizing Hub Director Jonathan Westin informed Hyperallergic. “This is such a failure of leadership by MoMA, to not even engage with their own role in perpetuating the climate crisis.”
Marie-Josée Kravis succeeded disgraced financier Leon Black as MoMA’s board chair in 2021. In a press release revealed on Hyperallergic, lots of of artists known as for Black’s elimination over his monetary hyperlinks to convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein. Black, who was accused of sexually assaulting a young person in Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in a federal lawsuit filed this July, stays a MoMA trustee.
Editor’s be aware 9/15/23 10:55pm EDT: This article has been up to date with new info relating to the arrest of 16 activists.
Edtor’s be aware 9/16/23 11:26am EDT: This article has been up to date with remark from NYPD.
