Palais de Tokyo ‘strongly rejects' patron's accusations it is ‘dictated by wokeism’

Sandra Hegedüs
Officials at the Palais de Tokyo contemporary art centre in Paris say they “strongly reject the accusations levelled against it on social media” by the patron Sandra Hegedüs who quit the Amis du Palais de Tokyo patrons group, withdrawing her financial support after 15 years. Hegedüs accused the centre of “wokeism”, saying that a recent exhibition on Palestine offered “biased and misleading points of view on the history of this conflict”.
In a lengthy statement provided by the Palais de Tokyo, its president, Guillaume Désanges said he has spoken with Philippe Dian, the president of the Amis, who has expressed his ongoing support for the Palais de Tokyo, “recalling that the mission of the Amis is to support the Palais, not to pass judgment on its programming”. The statement adds that “far from the polarisation of public debate, the Palais de Tokyo presents a diverse programme that respects a plurality of points of view whilst working to fulfil its public service mission”.
In a detailed Instagram post, which has been liked more than 13,000 times, Brazilian-born Hegedüs said the reason she stood down is “simple; things have changed and I don’t want to be associated with the new, very political direction at the Palais de Tokyo.”
On X (formerly Twitter), Hegedüs says in her bio details that she is a “proud Zionist”; in 2009, she founded the non-profit SAM Art Projects and since 2019 she has been the president of the board of Villa Arson, an art school in Nice. SAM Art Projects has backed a number of projects at the Palais de Tokyo including shows dedicated to Zineb Sedira in 2009 and Henrique Oliveira in 2013.
Hegedüs outlines the reasons for her decision to withdraw, saying that “the programming appears to be dictated by the defence of “causes”—wokeism, anti-capitalism, pro-Palestine etc. Today, it is less a question at the Tokyo Palace of offering diverse, innovative and creatively ambitious artistic approaches [and more about] sticking to an ideology,” she added.
Guillaume Désanges responded in the statement: “As a site of contemporary creation closely connected to current events in the artistic field, like most international cultural institutions the Palais de Tokyo must engage with these often political questions. It should not look to avoid doing so and must instead strive to be a place where artists can express themselves: to be a space for debate, reflection and encounters. Rather than pitting opposing logics against each other or creating new divisions, its mission is to shed light upon, to question and to put into perspective—particularly historical perspective—the current events that are shaping society.”
Hegedüs singled out a recent show focused on Palestine though did not explicitly state the name of the exhibition, which is thought to be Past Disquiet. The show, which focuses on four “museums in exile” conceived as touring exhibitions, runs until 30 June. “The latest exhibition on Palestine which offered, without perspective, biased and misleading points of view on the history of this conflict—giving voice, without contradiction, to racist, violent and anti-Semitic remarks—was the last straw,” she said in her Instagram post.
In response, the Palais de Tokyo said that planning for Past Disquiet began two years ago in 2022. “The show documents artistic initiatives from the 1960s to the 1980s that worked in solidarity with international movements, from Palestine to the struggle against apartheid in South Africa or against coups d'états in Chile and Nicaragua,” said the statement.
The exhibition is accompanied by an enhanced programme of visitor mediation, said the Palais de Tokyo. “The text that opens the exhibition specifies that ‘parts of this exhibition, which has been shown several times over the last ten years… resonates in an unexpected way with the tragic current events in the Middle East. The curators and the Palais de Tokyo, fully aware of the intensity of this particular situation, wish to express their solidarity with all the civilian populations affected by this tragedy’.”
Hegedüs ended her Instagram post by saying that she intends to keep supporting contemporary art in some way. “I think that other places today will have more capacity to help [promote] free, open, multiple art, which is not afraid to confront sometimes the problems of society but [in a more straightforward way] without being subjected to the editorial filter of an ideology,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Palais de Tokyo said it “reaffirms its solidarity with all the populations who have fallen victim to this tragic situation, condemns acts of terrorism and antisemitism, and calls for a lasting peace, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the liberation of all hostages [held by Hamas]”.

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