Sixteen local weather activists had been arrested after making an attempt to protest in a single day on the Museum of Fashionable Artwork (MoMA) in New York Metropolis tonight, September 15, in line with advocacy teams Local weather Defenders and New York Communities for Change (NYCC). The activists had been amongst roughly 50 demonstrators who staged actions on the museum earlier within the day to sentence MoMA’s ties to personal fairness agency Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), which has invested closely in fossil gasoline initiatives. Henry Kravis, co-founder of KKR, is the husband of MoMA Board Chair Marie-Josée Kravis; the couple has donated tens of tens of millions 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 activists had been arrested contained in the museum between 9:05pm and 9:30pm after being given three warnings by police. The group had arrived round 3:20pm and refused to go away, demanding that MoMA Director Glenn Lowry meet with Moist’suwet’en First Nation leaders. As within the June protest, contributors of right now’s motion hailed from a spread of local weather activism teams together with Extinction Rebel, the Local weather Organizing Hub, and Honor the Earth. It additionally included members of the Moist’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.
Hyperallergic has contacted the New York Metropolis Police Division (NYPD) for extra info concerning the arrests and any fees. The Museum of Fashionable Artwork has not responded to Hyperallergic’s request for remark.
Starting at 1:15pm right now, a gaggle of round 50 protesters gathered exterior of MoMA’s 53rd Road entrance, chanting “KKR, disgrace on you, we deserve a future too” and “Hey, ho, Coastal Gasoline has bought to go!” It’s the second local weather motion at MoMA in latest months — in early June, a gaggle of activists crashed the museum’s annual benefit gala, additionally demanding Kravis’s resignation.
Two Moist’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs delivered speeches, each alleging that KKR “kills water, kills wildlife, and kills our lifestyle.” On the finish 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 on the curb.
“Folks on this constructing are liable for the local weather 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 right now will collect individuals’s consideration to the tragedy that’s unfolding in entrance of our eyes.”
In response to Hyperallergic‘s inquiry, a spokesperson for KKR despatched the next assertion: “We’re dedicated to investing in a sustainable power transition, one which helps a shift to a clear power future whereas recognizing the continued significance of supplying the traditional power wanted for well-being, safety and financial progress around the globe right now.”
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 revenue” and “Henry Kravis is a local weather felony.” The blockade continued with a drumming efficiency and louder chanting — “Drop KKR, MoMA, drop KKR!” yelled the activists.
On MoMA’s second degree, a gaggle of protesters dropped a banner with the identical slogan. Close by on the bottom flooring, others staged a “die-in” whereas Refik Anadol’s AI set up “Unsupervised” (2023) performed behind them, draping the room in an eerie orange gentle.
Inside 25 minutes, the museum had closed entry to the foyer. The activists continued undeterred. Safety 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 man.” “Effectively, he owns a whole lot of corporations,” 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 had been finally arrested later within the night.
Final night time, a local weather protest at CitiBank ended with the arrests of no less than 24 individuals. 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 Local weather Week within the metropolis. In response to a press launch, the demonstrations have culminated in a complete of 46 arrests in any respect three establishments.
“As an alternative of assembly with Indigenous leaders, MoMA management determined to [have] 16 activists arrested and shut down their very own museum,” Local weather Organizing Hub Director Jonathan Westin informed Hyperallergic. “That is such a failure of management by MoMA, to not even have interaction with their very own function in perpetuating the local weather disaster.”
Marie-Josée Kravis succeeded disgraced financier Leon Black as MoMA’s board chair in 2021. In a statement printed on Hyperallergic, tons of of artists referred to as for Black’s removing 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 text has been up to date with new info concerning the arrest of 16 activists.