From Gagosian to Perrotin, Zwirner to Pace, U.S. galleries strike against ICE

The U.S. art world is breaking a habit of political prudence and choosing the path of collective mobilization. On Friday, January 30, dozens of galleries, museums and cultural organizations across the United States joined a nationwide general strike against the practices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, which has been accused of escalating violence and civil rights violations. The protest, which called on citizens across the country not to go to work, school or shop for the entire day, came as a direct response to what happened in Minneapolis, where federal operations led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens, Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

The mobilization gained momentum just after the killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse who was shot to death by a United States Customs and Border Protection agent. The incident followed that of Renée Nicole Good, killed in Minneapolis by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, and is part of a series of armed interventions that have raised a nationwide wave of outrage. Last week’s shutdown in the Twin Cities, namely Minneapolis and nearby St. Paul that had involved more than 700 businesses and more than 1,000 unions, now becomes a nationwide initiative.

Among the businesses announcing the closure are some of the most powerful galleries in the global art system, including Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Perrotin, Lelong, Pace Gallery, Marian Goodman, Almine Rech, Gladstone Gallery, Berggruen Gallery, P-P-O-W, David Kordansky, Mendes Wood and many others, joined by institutions such as the Drawing Center in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. A broad participation spanning major international brands and independent spaces, from the Lower East Side to Chelsea, from Tribeca to Los Angeles, and even involving realities outside the United States. Many of them shared messages on social to inform the public of their intention to join the strike for reasons of solidarity.

According to reports, the first New York galleries to announce the closure were Astor Weeks, Silke Lindner, and Margot Samel, who started an email chain inviting other operators to join the strike. Within hours, the communication spread quickly, leading to a growing membership. However, if private galleries reacted swiftly, the museum front was initially more cautious, despite the involvement, during last week’s local strike in Minneapolis, of prominent institutions such as the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, which closed their doors to the public for a day (some even more than a day) out of solidarity with the public. Nonprofit organizations such as the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, The Brick in Los Angeles, and Cue Art Foundation in New York have also announced closures at this time, while many large institutions had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

The general strike is being promoted by the decentralized network General Strike US and the National Shutdown movement, which on its website calls for a halt to schools, work and consumption to stop what is being called ICE’s “reign of terror.” The movement estimates that the participation of at least 3.5 percent of the U.S. population, about 11 million people, is needed to make such an action effective. Artists also play a central role in the mobilization. Italian artist Paola Pivi shared on social media an inscription, Free Humans, also taken up by some galleries, including Perrotin, in her stories on Instagram. The organizers then launched a call for the production of posters and graphic materials to be used during the events. Among the most widely shared images on social media is a poster by artist Trilemma, titled Pretti Good Reason for a National Strike (a pun on the names of the two citizens killed by ICE, literally “Good Reasons for a National Strike”) that depicts Alex Pretti and Renée Good. A second version also includes a tribute to Keith Porter, a citizen killed in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve by an off-duty ICE agent. Prints are being sold for as low as $15 to support the protests. The National Shutdown website also remembers Silverio Villegas González, a 38-year-old Mexican citizen with no criminal record who was killed during a traffic stop in Chicago on Sept. 12 during Operation Midway Blitz.

In New York City, several Chelsea galleries, including Olney Gleason, Tanya Bonakdar, Sean Kelly, Berry Campbell, Gladstone Gallery, and Galerie Lelong & Co. have announced closures, as have Tribeca spaces such as Jacqueline Sullivan Gallery, James Cohan, and Jane Lombard, which have decided to postpone openings scheduled just for Jan. 30. In Los Angeles, queer community center Nova Community Arts distributed free We Don’t Need ICE posters and participated in the strike, underscoring how even the closure of a small venue can help amplify a collective voice.

The involvement of a sector traditionally disinclined to direct political action was described as unprecedented by several operators: the long list of galleries that closed on January 30 includes historical realities and emerging spaces, spread across different cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas, reflecting a mobilization that has affected the entire country. For many operators, this is a symbolic but necessary gesture aimed at declaring that, in the face of deaths, detentions and civil rights restrictions, it is no longer possible to continue as if nothing were happening.

From Gagosian to Perrotin, Zwirner to Pace, U.S. galleries strike against ICE

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.