Artists protest MoMA and MoMA PS1 ties to controversial trustees in open letter

Thirty-seven artists signed an open letter to Glenn Lowry and Kate Fowle, directors of MoMA and MoMA PS1 respectively, demanding ethical reconsideration of trustee connections. The letter specifically targeted Leon Black, MoMA's board chairman linked to Constellis Holdings, formerly Blackwater, whose operatives were involved in the 2007 Nisour Square massacre that killed 17 Iraqis. Signatories, many from MoMA PS1's Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991-2011 exhibition, urged divestment from trustees profiting from suffering. Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz, a participant in that exhibition, paused his video installation RETURN (2004-) at the museum in protest against affiliations with Black and another trustee, Larry Fink, whose companies engage in unethical trades. After Rakowitz's symbolic gesture on January 14, 2020, museum staff unpaused the video and removed his explanatory statement against his wishes. Martha Rosler shared the letter on Facebook that day, noting no response from recipients. The letter called for MoMA, having recently reopened with a renovated, globally inclusive space, to rebuild its board with new ethical standards for philanthropic sourcing.