On 23 January, a number of Museums in St Paul and Minneapolis took part in the “Day of Truth and Freedom” protest in the Twin Cities in response to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations (ICE). That day, tens of thousands gathered in downtown Minneapolis. “Justice for Good” appeared on many cardboard signs raised high in the air, a tribute to Renee Nicole Good, the mother of three shot in her vehicle by an ICE agent last Wednesday.
The protesters’ demands included that ICE leave Minnesota, that the ICE officer who killed Good be legally held accountable, an end to additional federal funding for ICE, and that the agency be investigated for human rights and constitutional violations. Citizens refused to go to work, school, or shops that day. Similarly, local museums joined the protest: last Friday, they refused to open their doors, a clear stance of solidarity with the Minnesota population.
Among them was the Walker Art Center, one of the most high-profile cultural organizations in Minneapolis. This decision was followed by many other artistic institutions in the city including: the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA), the Minnesota Museum of American Art, and the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota. Smaller arts organizations also participated in the general strike, such as the gallery Dreamsong.
As soon as Friday’s strike ended, the next day, on 24 January, Alex Jeffry Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was fatally shot by an ICE agent. This event sparked further protests in Minneapolis, and many cultural institutions extended their closures.
The MIA, which was open on Saturday 24th January, closed its doors again after news of the shooting broke, which happened a few blocks from the institution. It stated on its Instagram account: “the safety of our visitors, staff, and community is our primary concern.”
By joining in the strike alongside working-class and community coalitions, these leading non-profit and independent organizations take a clear stance against federal politics. The message from cultural institutions is unmistakable: they are firmly opposed to Trump and ICE’s violence while mourning the two local residents killed in the city these museums serve:
“We believe that the only antidote to ICE’s violent, divisive terrorization of our community is to stand in solidarity with our immigrant neighbours and our besieged city,” Rebecca Heidenberg and Gregory Smith, Dreamsong’s co-founders, said in a recent statement.
Yet, the city’s art institutes’ ability to take clear action against Trump’s politics is in part due to their independence from the federal government’s funding system. According to The Art Newspaper, the Twin Cities art community’s participation in the general strike stands in stark contrast to responses from other federal cultural organizations.
Similarly, federal museums in Washington have been particularly reluctant to cross Trump’s political decisions since his return to power due to their budgetary dependance on his government. Already national cultural budgets have been severely cut, and Trump’s conservative visions have been imposed upon the sector. This was demonstrated in a survey published last November by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), highlighted that 13% of cultural institutions dependent on the government have been subjected to new legal restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Indeed, Trump now holds the cultural sphere with an iron fist. As the country prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its independence this year, many federal museums are under growing pressure to reflect conservative values from the White House. An example of these values can be seen through the closing of an exhibition at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia was shut down this January, despite its dedication to the nine people enslaved by the first US president, George Washington. Considering this context, the closures of Minneapolis cultural institutions function as a powerful gesture of solidarity with the Twin Cities’ residents. It also asserts their independence from federal authority over cultural life.
By stark contrast, on the very night Pretti was killed, and local museums extended their closures in protest, the White House hosted a private premiere of the documentary Melania. The message is disturbing: while a city’s cultural institutions mourn the killing of two citizens along with the Minnesota population, the Trump administration celebrates Melania’s appearance in the Hollywood world.