UK Museum Directors Say Climate Protests in Galleries ‘Have to Stop’

Leaders of national collections and major regional museums in the United Kingdom issued an open letter saying that protests involving notable artworks “have to stop.”

“They are hugely damaging to the reputation of UK museums and cause enormous stress for colleagues at every level of an organisation, along with visitors who now no longer feel safe visiting the nation’s finest museums and galleries,” stated the October 11 letter from the National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC).

The NMDC’s letter specifically cites five incidents at London’s National Gallery since July 2022. Those protests, led by ecoactivist groups such as Just Stop Oil, involved famed artworks such as Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, John Constable’s The Haywain, and Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus.

“Such attacks have caused physical damage to the artworks, distress to visitors and staff alike, and disruption to our collective mission to ensure great art and artefacts are available for everyone, everywhere to enjoy,” the NMDC stated.

The open letter also noted that two of the incidents involving artworks occurred in the two weeks prior to its publication, prompting the council to issue its statement.

On October 9, two activists pasted a photograph of a Palestinian mother and child over the protective glass of Pablo Picasso’s 1901 painting Motherhood (La Maternité) at the National Gallery. Members of the campaign group Youth Demand had intended to raise awareness for the dangers faced by families in Gaza. The two activists who led the protest were arrested.

The same museum was the subject of a protest on September 27, when three activists with Just Stop Oil threw cans of Heinz tomato soup at a Vincent van Gogh painting of sunflowers. The incident occurred an hour after two other members of the group were sentenced to prison for a similar protest involving Sunflowers in 2022.

“Our UK museums and galleries are an integral part of society, where free access allows everyone to be inspired by humanity’s greatest achievements,” stated NMDC’s letter.

The letter ends by emphasizing the irreplaceable value of the collections in the members’ museums and galleries as well as the growing consideration for protective barriers on artworks after each protest. (Many of the works involved in these protests already had layers of glass on them, preventing the paintings from long-lasting damage.)

“The world is currently in a very dark place, but these demonstrations now need to be taken away from our museums and galleries so that they can continue to provide light and solace to all.”

In response to the letter, a spokesperson for Just Stop Oil told the Art Newspaper, “If the NMDC believes the biggest threat they face is nonviolent protest, they should speak to the staff that are now sleeping in Florida’s Salvador Dali museum after their houses were destroyed by a supercharged hurricane.” This appeared to be a reference to the destruction that resulted from Hurricane Helene in Florida.

On October 9, Tampa Museum of Art director Michael Tomor recounted a conversation with Dalí Museum director Hank Hine to ARTnews, to illustrate the impact of Hurricane Helene. Hine told Tomor about feeding two or three staff members out of the Dalí Museum’s restaurant after the loss of their homes. “They have no place to go,” Tomor said. When ARTnews reached out to the Dalí Museum for official comment, a staff member said, “I don’t believe that’s the case,” and directed the call to chief marketing officer Beth Bell.