Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis
Al-Qassam Brigades: A NIMR armored personnel carrier carrying an Israeli soldier was targeted with an Al-Yassin missile north of Khan Younis
Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes

MoMA kicks out black artist after white visitor said was 'aggressive'

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 29 Mar 2023 20:51
3 Min Read

Just because MoMA employees decided to believe a white visitor's version of an incident, a black well-known artist gets ejected from the museum.

  • x
  • In this Nov. 20, 2004, file photo, people pass in front of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  (AP)
    In this Nov. 20, 2004, file photo, people pass in front of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. (AP)

British Ghanian visual artist Heather Agyepong was kicked out of an installation at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York -- that was supposed to be a "safe space for Black visitors" -- after an interaction with a white visitor who complained to employees that Agyepong was "aggressive".

The museum has apologized to Agyepong, and a MoMA spokesperson vowed the museum will work on protecting "the experiences of Black visitors and visitors from Indigenous communities and communities of colour" and will now "explore" bespoke staff training programs, according to a statement to The Art Newspaper.

Read: Ableism, sexism, & racism forces exhibition at London museum shutdown

"We reached out to Heather Agyepong and apologised," the spokesperson said. "We are committed to presenting programs that move race equity values forward and we acknowledge there will be challenges to work through and learn from as we support and invite artists and audiences to engage on these important issues."

After the incident, the artist posted on March 25 a video on Twitter, in which she explained what happened. She said that during her visit to the Black Power Naps installation, she was accused of being "aggressive" by a white lady just because Agyepong told her "I think the space is centred around Black people" after hearing the woman laughing. 

I just got kicked out of @MuseumModernArt #blackpowernaps installation because a white woman said I was "aggressive". pic.twitter.com/FRWEVeCq8e

— Heather Agyepong (@heatha_a) March 25, 2023

Related News

13-year-old shot dead by New York police had replica gun

Haley slams Trump's remarks on Black voters as 'disgusting'

Following a request for an interview at the time of publication, Agyepong did not respond.

Black Power Naps co-creator Navild Acosta was asked to comment about the incident and said that the artists' attempts "to create direct action, racial sensitivity trainings, outreach and social media campaigns" around the project "were not resourced" by MoMA.

"We insisted as soon as we were first contacted that this piece needed a serious commitment to anti-racism and that not doing so could warrant violence to our community, and we have been insisting ever since," Acosta said.

"It is only now that they are recognising how urgent this is and willing to remunerate this labour. It’s been an uphill battle. In January, we ourselves were told to be quiet in our own installation by a white visitor," he added.

Read: Black women artists accuse Wisconsin Museum of racism

It is worth noting that visual artist, performer/actor and maker, Heather Agyepong, lives and works in London and is regarded as one of her generation's top photographers. She won the Photographers Gallery New Talent Award and the Photo London x Nikon Emerging Photographer Award in 2021, and she has been nominated for The Prix Pictet on numerous occasions. She was also recently announced as a Nikon European Ambassador.

Her works have been performed, published, and displayed around the UK and internationally; The Centre national des arts plastiques in Paris, The Autograph ABP and the Hyman Collection in London, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and other institutions all have collections of her work. The recently opened Centre for British Photography in London is now featuring an exhibition of her series Wish You Were Here (2020).

  • Black Americans
  • New York
  • Black Lives Matter
  • London
  • Museum of Modern Art
  • Heather Agyepong

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS