Neïl Beloufa removes Parker Bright protest image from Palais de Tokyo exhibition after fundraising campaign

Neïl Beloufa has taken down an image depicting Parker Bright's 2017 protest at the Whitney Biennial from his exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Bright launched a GoFundMe campaign to finance a trip to Paris for a protest, arguing Beloufa appropriated his narrative without permission. The campaign raised over $2,600. Beloufa and curator Guillaume Désanges sent an apology letter to Bright confirming the removal, but Bright plans to proceed with his protest and seeks a public apology from both the artist and the institution. Bright's original protest involved standing before Dana Schutz's painting Open Casket (2016) at the Whitney Biennial in May 2017, wearing a shirt labeled 'Black death spectacle', which sparked debate over cultural appropriation. Bright compared Beloufa's use of his image to Schutz's depiction of Emmett Till, expressing concern about being used as raw material. The incident occurred in February 2018.