Abstract
By reconsidering museums’ responses to recent climate activism, I seek to shed light on how the climate emergency and sustainability politics may intersect with issues of inclusion and social cohesion, (activist practices of) political participation, and fostering democracy. Taking museums across Europe, the UK, and the US as case studies, this paper looks at their conservative and overly defensive responses to climate protest from activists using art galleries as platforms to advance their agendas. While many museums emphasize they supported the activists’ concerns, most condemned their interventions and subsequently heightened security measures. Politicians from conservative and Far-Right parties even called for law enforcement and tightening the law (Gayle 2022; Beschorner 2022). Drawing on press releases, media coverage, museum climate mission statements, and resources from museum associations, I argue that the museums’ inward-looking response to climate activism has considerable blind spots. Without downplaying the museums’ responsibility to protect their holdings, I suggest that rather than protecting their collections against an alleged activist threat, museums may reconsider their core values and foster public debate about climate action, environmental justice, and the Far-Right’s agenda of climate denial and ‘culture wars’ (Lyons and Bosworth 2019). While museum policies to reduce carbon footprints and reconsider corporate sponsoring are crucial first steps (Serafini and Garrard 2019), museums may join forces with communities and grassroots campaigns to nurture civil society and develop participatory programs about taking action, sustainable lifestyle options and consumption patterns, climate action against corporate polluters, and public pressure on local and national political parties.
Presenters
Annette LoesekeProfessor of Art History and Museum Studies, Institute of Art History, Braunschweig University of Art, Germany
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2024 Special Focus—Intersectionality: Museums, Inclusion, and SDGs
KEYWORDS
Museum Climate Action, Climate Activism, Sustainability, Participation, Inclusion, Cohesion
