Pro-Palestinian Protests Spread to US Museums and Art Schools

Pro-Palestinian protests have escalated across US museums and art schools, demanding ceasefire and divestment from Israel. In March, 350 activists gathered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with a quilt for "Free Palestine" made by 64 artists. At the British Museum, 200 members of Energy Embargo for Palestine demanded an end to BP partnership. In May, about 100 activists occupied the fifth floor of the Whitney Museum of American Art, distributing fake brochures and hanging banners reading "WHITNEY GENOCIDE NOW ON VIEW" from the sixth-floor terrace. The next day, dozens were arrested at a protest camp outside the Art Institute of Chicago. The People's Art Institute, a student group at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, called for divestment from entities supporting "Zionist occupation of Palestine." Student protests also occurred at Pratt Institute, Cooper Union, California Institute of the Arts, Otis College of Art and Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, School of Visual Arts, and Rhode Island School of Design. On May 4, UCLA faculty protested outside the Hammer Museum before its annual gala, demanding amnesty for arrested students. During the Met Gala, hundreds marched chanting "No Met Gala while bombs fall on Gaza," leading to mass arrests.