The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has issued an apology to British-Ghanaian artist Heather Agyepong after she was ejected from an installation housed in the museum and designed specifically as a safe and restful environment for black visitors.
In a statement to The arts journala MoMA spokesperson promised the museum would do more to “protect the experiences of Black visitors and visitors from Indigenous communities and communities of color” in response to the altercation – and will now “explore” staff training on measure.
On March 25, Agyepong posted a video on Twitter in which she claimed she was asked to leave an exhibit after her interaction with another visitor led that person to complain to museum workers that Agyepong was “aggressive”.
Agyepong and a friend were visiting black naps (until May 14), an installation by artists Navild Acosta and Fannie Sosa provide a resting space for black visitors to the museum. In her story, Agyepong struck up a conversation with a white visitor after the woman was heard laughing loudly in the facility. Agyepong recounted that she told the visitor, “I think the space is black-centric.” The woman, according to Agyepong, responded by shouting that the artist was acting aggressively before complaining to museum workers, who then told Agyepong and her friend to leave.
“Basically, they said to me: you can never rest!” Agyepong added in a tweet, referring to the museum. The artist had not responded to a request for an interview at the time of publication.
Asked about the incident, black naps Co-creator Navild Acosta said the artists’ attempts “to create direct action, racial sensitivity training, awareness and social media campaigns” around the project “have not been funded” by MoMA .
“We insisted from the time we were first contacted that this piece required a serious commitment against racism and that failure to do so could justify violence against our community, and we have been insisting ever since,” Acosta said. . “Only now do they recognize how urgent it is and are willing to pay for this work. It has been an uphill battle. In January a white visitor told us ourselves about us shut up in our own facility.”
In a statement to The arts journala MoMA spokesperson said the museum plans to add more staff to the facility and will “explore” other procedural changes, including additional signage and staff training, in consultation with event organizers. black naps.
“We have contacted Heather Agyepong and apologized,” the spokesperson said. “We are committed to presenting programs that advance the values of racial equity and we recognize that there will be challenges to overcome and learn as we support and invite artists and audiences to engage on these important issues.”
Agyepong, who was born and lives in London, is considered one of the leading photographers of her generation. In 2021, she received the Photo London x Nikon Emerging Photographer Award and the Photographers Gallery New Talent Award, and has been nominated multiple times for the Prix Pictet. His work is in the collections of the Autograph ABP in London and the Hyman Collection, as well as the Center National des Arts Plastiques in Paris and the New Orleans Museum of Art. An exhibition of his series wish you were Here(2020) is currently on display at the recently opened Center for British Photography in London.
