Petition demands reinstatement of Yves Aupetitallot after dismissal from Le Magasin
On October 30, Yves Aupetitallot was removed from his position as director of Le Magasin – Centre National d'Art Contemporain in Grenoble, a role he held for two decades, during which he earned global acclaim for the institution. His termination came after he faced internal criticism and public slander while on sick leave, which he claims was a result of harassment. In response, a support committee has initiated a petition for his reinstatement, amassing over 650 signatures from prominent individuals such as Christian Boltanski and Maurizio Cattelan. These supporters have voiced their outrage over his dismissal, cautioning that it undermines the institution. Aupetitallot is pursuing legal action regarding his firing, following previous protests, including a March 2014 open letter and petitions from former students and artists.
Key facts
- Yves Aupetitallot was dismissed on October 30 from Le Magasin – Cnac in Grenoble after 20 years as director.
- Over 650 signatures have been collected in support of Aupetitallot, including from major artists, curators, and museum directors.
- The petition is addressed to French Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin.
- Aupetitallot has initiated legal proceedings against his dismissal, citing harassment and bad-faith contract execution.
- Signatories include Christian Boltanski, Lawrence Weiner, Douglas Gordon, Maurizio Cattelan, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and many others.
- A previous open letter in March 2014 from artists who donated works raised €175,000, but the exhibition program was cancelled by the board.
- Former students of the École du Magasin launched a petition in October expressing concern for the institution's credibility.
- An open letter from 50 artists protested the cancellation of the exhibition Zig Zag.
Entities
Artists
- Yves Aupetitallot
- Christian Boltanski
- Lawrence Weiner
- François Morellet
- Douglas Gordon
- Maurizio Cattelan
- Adel Abdessemed
- Rosa Barba
- Olivier Mosset
- Saâdane Afif
- Nöel Dolla
- Ophélie Reynaud-Dewar
- Thomas Demand
- Yan Pei-Ming
- John Armleder
- Jim Shaw
- Wim Delvoye
- Julio Le Parc
- Liam Gillick
- Dominique Gonzalez Foerster
- Houston Maludi
- Philippe Parreno
- Dora Garcia
- Pierre Huyghe
- Sylvie Blocher
- Thomas Ruff
- Jean-Luc Vilmouth
- Rodney Graham
- Peter Halley
- Heimo Zobernig
- Loris Greaud
- Benjamin Valenza
- Lothar Hempel
- Michel Aubry
- Ericka Beckman
- Nicolas Chardon
- Michael Smith
- Renaud Jerez
- Helmut Draxler
- Paul Ardenne
- Fareed Armaly
- Olivier Babin
- Marnie Weber
- Anton Herbert
- Constanze Ruhm
- John Tremblay
- Eric Deneuville
- Paolo Colombo
- Piero Golia
- Nicolas Trembley
- Germano Celant
- Hou Hanru
- Kasper König
- Ralph Rugoff
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Jean-Hubert Martin
- Chuz Martinez
- Daniel Birnbaum
- Massimiliano Gioni
- Ute Meta Bauer
- Pier Luigi Tazzi
- Mike Kelley
Institutions
- Le Magasin – Centre National d'Art Contemporain
- Ludwig Museum (Cologne)
- MUMOK (Vienna)
- Raw Center for Art (Dakar)
- Museum Boijmans van Beuningen (Rotterdam)
- MADRE (Naples)
- MoMA (New York)
- Jewish Museum (New York)
- New Museum (New York)
- Artists Space (New York)
- Museum of Modern Art (Istanbul)
- Migros Museum (Basel)
- Gemeentemuseum (The Hague)
- Deichtorhallen (Hamburg)
- Serpentine Galleries (London)
- DRAF (London)
- Hayward Gallery (London)
- MAC (Lyon)
- MOCA (Los Angeles)
- GAMeC (Bergamo)
- Kunsthalle Zürich
- NMNM (Monaco)
- MUDAM (Luxembourg)
- MAXXI (Rome)
- WIELS (Brussels)
- Argos Center (Brussels)
- CalArts (Valencia)
- SALT (Istanbul)
- Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
- HKW (Berlin)
- IUAV (Venice)
- Bard College (New York)
- Ghent University (Ghent)
- Akademie der Bildende Künste (Vienna)
- FHNW Academy of Art and Design (Basel)
- NABA (Milan)
- Städelschule (Frankfurt)
- ERG (Brussels)
- Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
- Princeton University (Princeton)
- Fondation Beyeler
- Arab Image Foundation
- Malcolm McLaren Estate
- Fondation Luma
- Change.org
Locations
- Grenoble
- France
- Cologne
- Germany
- Vienna
- Austria
- Dakar
- Senegal
- Rotterdam
- Netherlands
- Naples
- Italy
- New York
- United States
- Istanbul
- Turkey
- Basel
- Switzerland
- The Hague
- Hamburg
- London
- United Kingdom
- Lyon
- Los Angeles
- Bergamo
- Zürich
- Monaco
- Luxembourg
- Rome
- Brussels
- Belgium
- Valencia
- Singapore
- Berlin
- Venice
- Ghent
- Milan
- Frankfurt
- Düsseldorf
- Princeton
Sources
- artpress —