Nearly 100 museum directors condemn attacks on artworks by climate activists
Nearly 100 international museum directors have signed a joint statement condemning the recent wave of attacks on artworks by climate activists, particularly those linked to the Just Stop Oil movement. The protests, which have included throwing tomato soup at Van Gogh's Sunflowers, vegetable soup at his Sower, mashed potatoes at Monet's Les Meules, and defacing Warhol's Campbell Soup cans, have escalated globally. The directors, from institutions including the Louvre, the Met, the National Gallery London, the Uffizi, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, warn that activists underestimate the fragility of irreplaceable cultural heritage. The statement, published in multiple languages, emphasizes that museums are spaces for dialogue and that their core missions of collecting, researching, sharing, and preserving are more relevant than ever. Signatories include Diego Ferretti (Mart), Eike Schmidt (Uffizi), Karole P. B. Vail (Peggy Guggenheim), Laurence des Cars (Louvre), Miguel Falomir (Prado), and Max Hollein (Met). The attacks have sparked debate between those defending artworks as collective heritage and those highlighting the urgency of climate issues.
Key facts
- Nearly 100 international museum directors signed a joint statement condemning attacks on artworks by climate activists.
- Activists from Just Stop Oil and other groups have targeted iconic works including Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Sower, Monet's Les Meules, and Warhol's Campbell Soup cans.
- The statement warns that activists underestimate the fragility of irreplaceable cultural heritage.
- Signatories include directors from the Louvre, the Met, the National Gallery London, the Uffizi, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
- The attacks have involved throwing food and gluing hands to artworks, all protected by glass so far.
- The statement was published in multiple languages and signed by figures from Tokyo to New York.
- Italian signatories include Diego Ferretti (Mart), Eike Schmidt (Uffizi), and Karole P. B. Vail (Peggy Guggenheim).
- The directors affirm museums as spaces for dialogue and preservation.
Entities
Artists
- Diego Ferretti
- Eike Schmidt
- Karole P. B. Vail
- Laurence des Cars
- Miguel Falomir
- Max Hollein
- Evelio Acevedo
- Elina Anttila
- Richard Armstrong
- Agustín Arteaga
- László Baán
- Sebastian Baden
- Séverine Berger
- Claire Bernardi
- Konrad Bitterli
- Andreas Blühm
- Frédéric Bußmann
- Thomas P. Campbell
- Cécile Debray
- Markus Dekiert
- Ann Demeester
- Roger Diederen
- Hartmut Dorgerloh
- Martin Faass
- Gabriele Finaldi
- Hartwig Fischer
- Reidar Fuglestad
- Susanne Gaensheimer
- Akira Gokita
- Peter Gorschlüter
- Martine Gosselink
- Christoph Grunenberg
- Sabine Haag
- Tone Hansen
- Annette Haudiquet
- Christoph Heinrich
- Isidro Hernández
- Karin Hindsbo
- Johan Holten
- Tristram Hunt
- Thomas Köhler
- Lidewij de Koekkoek
- Felix Krämer
- Karola Kraus
- Ulrike Kremeier
- Stephan Kunz
- Christiane Lange
- Eric M. Lee
- Séverine Lepape
- Christophe Leribault
- Christine Litz
- Glenn D. Lowry
- Katherine C. Luber
- Paola Malavassi
- Roland Mönig
- Erik H. Neil
- Jörg-Uwe Neumann
- Alex Nyerges
- Hermann Parzinger
- Anne Pasternak
- Katherina Perlongo
- Ann Philbin
- Igor Poronyk
- Rebecca Rabinow
- Svenja Gräfin von Reichenbach
- Beate Reifenscheid
- Xavier Rey
- Stella Rollig
- Bart Rutten
- Salvador Salort-Pons
- Henning Schaper
- Cyrille Sciama
- Klaus Albrecht Schröder
- Walter Smerling
- Petter Snare
- Guillermo Solana
- Reinhard Spieler
- Paul Spies
- Angela Stief
- Elisa Tamaschke
- Matthew Teitelbaum
- Gary Tinterow
- Poul Erik Tøjner
- Juan Ignacio Vidarte
- Christoph Martin Vogtherr
- Aurélie Voltz
- Julia Wallner
- Lucy Wasensteiner
- Adam D. Weinberg
- Daniel H. Weiss
- Ortrud Westheider
- Nina Zimmer
- Giulia Ronchi
Institutions
- Just Stop Oil
- Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies Australia
- Mart – Museo d’arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto
- Gallerie degli Uffizi
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection
- Musée du Louvre
- Museo Nacional del Prado
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- The National Gallery
- British Museum
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation
- Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
- The National Museum of Finland
- Dallas Museum of Art
- Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery
- Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
- Musée de l’Annonciade
- Musée de l’Orangerie
- Kunst Museum Winterthur
- Groninger Museum
- Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz
- The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
- Musée national Picasso-Paris
- Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud
- Kunsthaus Zürich
- Kunsthalle München
- Humboldt Forum
- Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt
- Kunstsilo
- Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen
- Tokyo Fuji Art Museum
- Museum Folkwang
- Mauritshuis
- Kunsthalle Bremen
- Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
- Munchmuseet
- Musée d’art moderne André Malraux
- Denver Art Museum
- TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes
- National Museum
- Kunsthalle Mannheim
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Berlinische Galerie
- Frans Hals Museum
- Kunstpalast
- mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien
- Brandenburgisches Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst
- Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur
- Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
- Kimbell Art Museum
- Musée de Cluny
- Musée d’Orsay
- Städtische Museen Freiburg
- Museum of Modern Art
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam
- Von der Heydt-Museum
- Chrysler Museum of Art
- Kunsthalle Rostock
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
- Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz
- Brooklyn Museum
- Georg Kolbe Museum
- Hammer Museum UCLA
- Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art
- The Menil Collection
- Palais Populaire
- ICOM Germany
- Musée national d’art moderne – Centre Pompidou
- Belvedere Museum
- Centraal Museum
- Detroit Institute of Arts
- Museum Frieder Burda
- Musée des impressionnismes Giverny
- The ALBERTINA Museum
- MKM Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst
- KODE Bergen Art Museum
- Sprengel Museum Hannover
- Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin
- Albertina Modern
- Museum of Fine Arts
- The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
- The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
- Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
- Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten
- Musée d’art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Étienne
- Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck
- Liebermann-Villa am Wannsee
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Museum Barberini
- Kunstmuseum Bern – Zentrum Paul Klee
- Artribune
Locations
- Tokyo
- New York
- London
- Berlin
- Trento
- Rovereto
- Florence
- Venice
- Paris
- Madrid
- Helsinki
- Dallas
- Budapest
- Frankfurt
- Saint-Tropez
- Winterthur
- Groningen
- Chemnitz
- San Francisco
- Cologne
- Zürich
- Munich
- Darmstadt
- Kristiansand
- Düsseldorf
- Essen
- The Hague
- Bremen
- Vienna
- Oslo
- Le Havre
- Denver
- Tenerife
- Mannheim
- Haarlem
- Cottbus
- Frankfurt (Oder)
- Chur
- Stuttgart
- Fort Worth
- Freiburg
- Minneapolis
- Potsdam
- Wuppertal
- Norfolk
- Rostock
- Richmond
- Los Angeles
- Odessa
- Houston
- Utrecht
- Detroit
- Baden-Baden
- Giverny
- Duisburg
- Bergen
- Hannover
- Humlebæk
- Bilbao
- Saint-Étienne
- Remagen
- Bern
- Italy
- Germany
- France
- Spain
- Finland
- Hungary
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Austria
- Norway
- Denmark
- Australia
- Canberra
- United States
- Japan
- Ukraine