Noguchi Museum Staff Stroll Out in Protest of New Keffiyeh Ban

Workers of the Noguchi Museum in Queens, New York, staged a walkout at this time in protest of a brand new inner costume code banning keffiyehs, which they deemed “distinctly anti-Palestinian.” That is the second workers work stoppage on the Noguchi, following an motion on August 15. 

Some 50 staff—who, at an establishment of roughly 70 staff, characterize a majority of its labor drive—have signed a petition demanding museum management rescind the coverage, which was reportedly instated on August 14 in response to a single staffer carrying the Palestinian scarf on-site. The petition, despatched on August 19 by the group Noguchi Museum Rights, additionally calls for that no disciplinary motion shall be taken towards staffers who put on the garment or have taken half in protests towards the coverage. In response to a spokesperson for the group, all gallery attendants and store associates participated in at this time’s stroll out; exterior safety workers briefly assumed their duties.

In a press release emailed to ARTnews, staff decry the ban as “censorship” and say it’s “significantly worrisome” given the life and legacy of sculptor Isamu Noguchi, “who himself confronted discrimination and voluntary internment as a Japanese-American, and created work that instantly addressed political themes, together with crimes towards humanity, and he supposed for his artwork to be explored by all kinds of perspective,” per the assertion.

The assertion added: “The coverage was enacted by management as an try and take a impartial stance, but banning the keffiyeh is distinctly anti-Palestinian. A keffiyeh ban not solely fails to assist our Palestinian affiliated colleagues, however was additionally instantly weaponized towards a Black worker.”

In an inner electronic mail despatched by museum director Amy Hau on August 15 and reviewed by ARTnews, staff have been notified that Hau and the board had determined to shut the museum from August 16 by way of 18, describing the “prolonged break” as an “alternative to reset and recharge.” Hau added that museum management had heard the “suggestions” relating to the costume code replace and would focus on workers issues.

Workers, nevertheless, have been notified through an inner electronic mail despatched on August 21 by Hau (and likewise reviewed by ARTnews) that the keffiyeh ban would stay in place.

“Whereas we respect and assist your proper to specific private beliefs exterior of labor, we ask that you simply adhere to the up to date costume code coverage,” Hau wrote in her electronic mail, which restated the coverage: “To take care of a impartial {and professional} atmosphere, staff are prohibited from carrying garments or equipment that show political messages, slogans, or symbols. This contains, however is just not restricted to, attire or gadgets that promote political events, candidates or ideological actions.”

The coverage continued that an worker’s look “mustn’t create a disruption within the office.”

“We acknowledge that we live in complicated and difficult occasions, the place private expression and public discourse typically intersect in sudden methods,” a spokesperson for the Noguchi Museum advised ARTnews. “Just lately, issues have been raised a couple of workers member carrying a keffiyeh whereas at work on the Museum. Whereas we perceive that the intention behind carrying this garment was to specific private views, we acknowledge that such expressions can unintentionally alienate segments of our various visitorship. We mentioned with workers that it’s our obligation as a public cultural establishment to make sure that the Museum is welcoming to all.”

For the reason that October 7 Hamas assault on Israel, artwork establishments in New York Metropolis and past have confronted criticism by pro-Palestine protests for his or her perceived silence on Israel’s air and floor assault on Gaza, which has to this point claimed 40,000 lives, in accordance to Palestinian well being authorities. From the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork to the Brooklyn Museum, management has struggled to handle the issues of its audiences, and in some instances, have created new crises for themselves. In a viral March incident, the Museum of Fashionable Artwork apologized after two guests have been advised by museum safety that they might not enter the premises with a keffiyeh. The customer holding the white-and-black scarf, Ju-Hyun Park, a Brooklyn-based author, referred to as the incident a “overtly racist anti-Palestinian coverage” on X. 

“After gathering all out there data, we decided {that a} keffiyeh carried inside a customer’s bag was misidentified as a banner throughout bag screening,” MoMA stated in a press release on the time. In February, greater than 500 demonstrators occupied MoMA’s foyer for a pro-Palestine motion, many brandishing banners and carrying keffiyehs.

In the meantime, a rising variety of artists and curators who’ve publicly supported Palestine have stated their occasions have been canceled, exhibitions have been altered with out their consent, and residency gives have been rescinded. In Might, the New York–based mostly nonprofit Nationwide Coalition Towards Censorship (NCAC) launched the Artwork Censorship Index, a web based database to trace the rising record of censorship accusations in the US. 

Among the many incidents featured are the Frick Pittsburgh museum suspending a present of Islamic artwork, and Indiana College’s Eskenazi Museum of Artwork canceling a portion of a retrospective for American Palestinian artist Samia Halaby. (The present’s different portion nonetheless opened on the MSU Broad Artwork Museum in Michigan.)