Protesters carry a banner beneath a Cecily Brown painting in the lobby of the Brooklyn Museum on 31 May Photo by Gwendolen Cates
A chaotic scene unfolded Friday afternoon (31 May) as over 1,000 pro-Palestine protesters took over the main entrance, lobby and outdoor plaza of the Brooklyn Museum. It was one of the largest and most intense protests at a New York City cultural institution since the start of the Israel-Hamas war following the terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023, drawing a large and sometimes violent response from the New York Police Department.
The action was organised by Cultural Front for Free Palestine (CFFP) and coincided with a rally planned by the group Within Our Lifetime. Leading up to the rally, Within Our Lifetime urged their followers and supporters to “flood the Brooklyn Museum for Gaza” in widely circulated social media posts.
Protesters outside the Brooklyn Museum's main entrance on 31 May Photo by Violet Burburan
“The museum relies heavily on subsidies from the City of New York, along with the granting of the land it sits on, and so its financial doings should be publicly accountable,” a spokesperson for CFFP, a newly formed advocacy group composed of artists and cultural workers, said in a statement. “That process of accountability should also involve the disclosure of funds from donors and trustees who are heavily implicated in the occupation” of Palestinian territory.
The action was intended to bring attention to the ongoing war in Gaza—where Israeli forces are in the midst of a deadly offensive in the densely populated city of Rafah, and where more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the local health ministry—as well as calling on cultural institutions to disclose and divest their financial ties to Israel. Around 3pm, some protesters met at the Barclays Center then made the 25-minute walk to the Brooklyn Museum.
Protesters inside the lobby of the Brooklyn Museum on 31 May Photo by Marz Jupiter
Once the group arrived at the Brooklyn Museum, they were met by two police helicopters flying overhead, many police officers in full riot gear and more than a half-dozen NYPD vans parked along the sidewalk in front of the museum. Eastern Parkway, a wide and busy street that passes in front of the museum, was repeatedly shut down as protesters spilled onto the road and blocked traffic in both directions.
At around 4:30pm, protesters demonstrated inside the museum’s main lobby. Around 80 people occupied the area inside its main entrance, where a large sculpture by KAWS and painting by Cecily Brown loom over the ticketing area. The protesters laid down banners, held signs, chanted, blew whistles and affixed posters to the lobby windows. Some protesters scattered red poppy petals, symbols of Palestinian solidarity, around the space. One banner featured the phrase “Silence = Death”, a slogan popularised by the Aids activist group Act Up, with a wedge of watermelon (a symbol of Palestinian solidarity) replacing the original's purple triangle. Outside, a large crowd had gathered and the museum stopped allowing anyone to enter.
Protesters at the Brooklyn Museum on 31 May carry a banner that reinterprets the slogan and imagery of Act Up's Aids activism campaign Photo by Marz Jupiter
The crowd outside took over the entire exterior of the museum’s main façade, including a stepped seating area, elevated walkway and pedestrian plaza. One protester was able to scale to top of the museum’s façade, where banners promoting special exhibitions hang, and affix a banner of their own: “Free Palestine: Divest from Genocide.”
Around one hour into the protest, police swarmed parts of the museum exterior in an effort to get protesters off it and down to street level. The NYPD arrested 34 people during the protest and no injuries have been reported. Protesters remained at the museum until about 7pm, when the crowds started to disperse. Deborah Kass’s beloved public sculpture outside the Brooklyn Museum’s main entrance, OY/YO (2015), was vandalized during Friday’s protest, with phrases such as ‘’NYPD KKK”, “Free Palestine” and “Fuck Ur Bullshit Museum” written on it alongside several stickers.
Protesters unfurl a banner from the top of the Brooklyn Museum's façade on 31 May Photo by Violet Burburan
“Displaying banners inside the building or affixed to the building is against museum policy and security protocol,” a Brooklyn Museum spokesperson told The Art Newspaper. “Unfortunately, there was damage to existing and newly installed artwork on our plaza, and our public safety staff were physically and verbally harassed. Out of a concern for the building, our collections, and our staff, the decision was made to close the building an hour early and [we] asked the public to vacate peacefully,”
The Brooklyn Museum has been the site of numerous rallies and actions over the last several years, including several that were led by its own unionised employees. In December of last year, a small group of activists affiliated with the organisations Decolonize This Place and Within Our Lifetime staged an action at the museum.
