British museum directors: 'no more protests inside museums'

British museum directors have written an open letter calling for an end to activist protests at museums. The missive bears the signature of the National Museum Directors’ Council (NMDC), which represents the heads of the UK’s national collections and major regional museums, and is motivated by the fact that, according to the directors, staff, precisely because of the wave of protests targeting artworks, are facing unprecedented levels of stress, and museums are suffering image damage.

“In recent years, the UK’s museums and galleries, the works of art they contain and, by extension, the people who visit them and those who work in them, have become increasingly the target of protest actions,” the letter reads. “While we respect people’s right to protest and are often sympathetic to the cause, these attacks must stop. They are extremely damaging to the reputation of UK museums and cause enormous stress to colleagues at every level of an organization, along with visitors who now no longer feel safe visiting the nation’s best museums and galleries.”

Since July 2022, NMDC recalls, "the National Gallery alone has been the victim of five separate attacks on iconic paintings such as Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers , John Constable’s The Hay Wagon, and Velázquez’s Venus Rokeby. These attacks have caused physical damage to artworks, discomfort to both visitors and staff, and disruption to our collective mission to ensure that great works of art and artifacts are available to everyone, everywhere. Two of these attacks have occurred in the past two weeks, which is why we have decided that now is the time for us to speak out."

“Our UK museums and galleries,” the directors conclude, “are an integral part of society, where free access allows everyone to be inspired by humanity’s greatest achievements. The collections we preserve are irreplaceable, and with each attack we are forced to consider putting more barriers between people and their artworks to preserve these fragile objects for future generations. The world is currently in a very dark time, but these demonstrations must be removed from our museums and galleries so that they can continue to provide light and comfort to all.”

British museum directors: 'no more protests inside museums'

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