Colombia's National Museum Removes 30 Works as Protests Erupt in Bogotá
Last week, President Abelardo De La Espriella mandated the removal of approximately 30 items from the Museo Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá, leading to protests outside the venue. Demonstrators faced off against police dressed in riot gear, while the museum showcased empty spaces where the artifacts once were. De La Espriella denounced the removed items, which included a photograph from an LGBTQ+ rights march and a pen linked to the 2016 FARC peace agreement, labeling them as "odes to terrorism." Most of the affected pieces were from the "Making Society" gallery, which opened in 2019. Concerns were raised by directors of modern art museums, while Minister of Culture Paola Holguín supported the action, asserting that the museum should not be a platform for political indoctrination. De La Espriella assumed office in August after defeating Senator Iván Cepeda.
Key facts
- About 30 works were removed from the Museo Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá on President Abelardo De La Espriella's order
- Hundreds protested outside the museum this weekend; police deployed water cannons and stun grenades
- Removed items include a Humberto Rincón Perfetti photograph, Elizabeth Castillo's Pride Flag, and a reproductive rights pamphlet
- A pen made from a bullet that signed the 2016 FARC peace agreement was among the withdrawn objects
- Directors of six modern art museums signed a joint declaration urging the culture minister to reverse the decision
- Culture Minister Paola Holguín said the museum may not serve as "an instrument of political indoctrination"
- Most objects came from the "Making Society" gallery, inaugurated in 2019
- De La Espriella took office in August after defeating Iván Cepeda by the narrowest margin in recent Colombian history
Entities
Artists
- Abelardo De La Espriella
- Paola Holguín
- Carlos Pizarro Leongómez
- Humberto Rincón Perfetti
- Elizabeth Castillo
- Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa
- Juan Manuel Santos
- Beatriz López
- Antonio Caro
- Luis Caballero
- Jaime Cerón
- Pablo A. Medina
- Iván Cepeda
- Nayib Bukele
- Javier Milei
- Donald Trump
- Carlos Pizarro
- Liliana Angulo Cortés
- Abelardo de la Espriella
- César Osorio Ortiz
- Gustavo Petro
- Federico Hoyos
- Juan Manuel Galán
- María Paz Gaviria
- María José Pizarro
- Gonzalo Sánchez
- Paola H
- Los Tigres del Norte
- Úrsula Ochoa
- Jacques Rancière
- Alfonso Quijano Acero
- Primo Levi
- Fernando Botero
- Bernardo Jaramillo
- Camilo Turbay
- Lucho Herrera
- Miguel Ángel Rojas
- Inty Maleywa
- Estefanía Méndez
- Natalia Espitia
- Diana Castellanos Aranguren
- Walter Benjamin
- Julián Sterling
- María Constanza Toquica
- Slavoj Žižek
- Salvatore Mancuso
- Iván Duque
- Maquiavelo
- Sun Tzu
- Mario Omar Fernández Reguera
- Santiago Bernal
- Fernando Botero Angulo
- Lina María (Inty Maleywa) Patiño Góngora
- Diego Rubiano
- Mayté Machado
- Jonathan Cárdenas Suárez
- Andrés Eduardo Suárez
- Diego Álvarez Jano
- Manuel Antonio Velandia Mora
- León Zuleta
- Jaime Pardo Leal
- Daniela Maldonado Salamanca
- Beatriz Elena Quintero García
- Naila Katherine Flor Ortega
- Laura Vanessa Fajardo
- María Himelda Ramírez Rodríguez
- Santiago Rueda
- María Eugenia Trujillo
- Constanza Toquica
- Lucila Rubio de Laverde
- Katalina Ángel Ortiz Sánchez
- Adolf Hitler
- Heinrich Hoffmann
- Obregón
- Ana Mercedes Hoyos
- Miguel Polo Polo
- ADLE
Institutions
- Museo Nacional de Colombia
- Ministry of Culture of Colombia
- Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
- Patriotic Union Party
- Ministry of Education of Colombia
- Instituto de Visión
- Museo El Rayo
- Smithsonian Institution
- Hyperallergic
- La Silla Vacía
- Infobae
- The New York Times
- Ministerio de las Culturas, las Artes y los Saberes
- Ministerio de Cultura y Patrimonio
- Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá
- Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín
- Colombia Diversa
- Prensa Mercosur
- Museo Nacional
- Museo Nacional de Bogotá
- Ministero della Cultura
- M-19
- Consiglio internazionale dei musei in Colombia
- ICOM Colombia
- InsideArt
- Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia
- FARC
- Unión Patriótica
- Centro Democrático
- Nuevo Liberalismo
- Bienal de Bogotá
- Consejo Internacional de Museos (ICOM) Colombia
- Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica
- Ministerio de Cultura
- Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC)
- Tiny Desk
- eldiario.es
- Artishock Revista
- Ministerio de Hacienda
- Banco Bancafé
- El Reporte Coronell
- Caracol Radio
- El Colombiano
- Casa de Nariño
- Red Comunitaria Trans
- Esferapublica
- Juzgado 24 de Familia de Bogotá
- Defensoría del Pueblo
- ICOM
- UNESCO
- Fundación Fipaz
- Cambiamos Colombia Diario
- EFE
- Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación
- Alianza Democrática M-19
- Editorial Colombia Nueva Ltda.
- Proyecto Lafarota
- Casa de la Mujer
- Red Nacional de Mujeres
- Cinemateca Distrital
- IDARTES
- Asociación Democrática de Mujeres Colombianas
- Comercializadora Arturo Calle S.A.S.
- Corporación Triángulo Negro
- Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá D. C.
- Banco Granahorrar
- Esfera Pública
- Corte Constitucional
- Museo Santa Clara
- Procuraduría
- Contraloría
- Haus der Deutschen Kunst
- FARC-EP
- UNADI
- Banco de la República
- MAFAPO
- Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia
- Farc
- Cambio
- Dasartes
- Artnet
Locations
- Bogotá
- Colombia
- Medellín
- Cartagena
- Barranquilla
- El Tolima
- New York
- United States
- El Salvador
- Argentina
- Carrera Séptima
- Spain
- Cali
- Santa Fe
- Teatro Faenza
- Alemania
- Moscú
- Rusia
- Estados Unidos
- Europa