On Art and the Limits of Dissent: Climate Activism at Museums and Galleries

Since June 2022, activists have been targeting renowned museums and galleries to draw attention to the climate crisis, with protests that often involve the apparent destruction of artworks. These actions have been condemned in global media outlets and are frequently represented as counterproductive and lacking in logic. We contend there is a logic in the actions of these political dissenters that goes beyond a simple attempt to secure media and political attention. The symbolic destruction of famous artworks represents a threat to deep psychological needs to transcend death through the protection of common heritage, which is discursively linked to climate and ecological destruction. Furthermore, considering the current literature on the physical spaces of democratic practices, we highlight the risks of demarcating museums and galleries as “off-limits” for political action and contend that these are legitimate sites for protest and acts of civil disobedience.