As hundreds of tourists and art lovers enjoyed the Guggenheim’s evening of free admission last Saturday night, scores of activists briefly took control of the museum, blaring a bugle, dropping banners from the spiral balconies, and raining leaflets on visitors.
The activists, affiliates of the G.U.L.F. (Global Ultra Luxury Faction) and Occupy Museums groups, were calling attention to the construction of a new Guggenheim branch on the artificial Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. The emirate is pouring money into a massive project to bring western cultural institutions to the island, including the Louvre, and the controversial New York University branch.
The issue, Gulf Labor contends, is that the actual construction of these institutions is effectively being done with indentured labor—migrant workers brought into Abu Dhabi from South Asia under the country’s exploitative sponsorship program, which prevents them from bargaining, organizing, or even leaving the country without their employer’s permission. According to numerous reports, the workers are forced to live in fetid, overcrowded camps located near open sewers. Laborers with serious injuries are ordered back to work and are assaulted or threatened if they complain to the authorities. Media coverage of the conditions is beginning to intensify.
“It’s a challenging problem,” said Andrew Ross, an NYU professor and a founder of Gulf Labor. “It’s similar to what Nike said [when it was challenged on labor conditions]: ‘We’re not in control of the supply chain.’ Well, we don’t have leverage in Abu Dhabi. But we can put pressure on the institutions here to be responsible.”
After slowly dispersing through the museum, the activists sprung into action at 6:45 p.m., unfurling mylar banners with slogans like “1% Museum” and chanting “Who is building the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi?”
(courtesy Gulf Ultra Luxury Faction)
Bemused visitors stopped in their tracks, pulled out their camera-phones, and wondered what was going on.
“The Guggenheim should not be built on the backs of abused workers,” the activists chanted. “The Guggenheim should listen to the voices of migrant workers. Is this the future of art?”
The action ended after roughly 20 minutes, and museum-goers reacted with a substantial round of applause. Some approached the activists to ask for more information.
The museum guards were less impressed, tearing down the manifestos and berating the activists for their disruptive behavior. Police were soon on the scene, helping the guards escort the protesters off museum property.
(Nick Pinto / Gothamist)
(Nick Pinto / Gothamist)
“Ten dollars an hour, and you make us put up with this?” one guard shouted at the protesters as they were ejected. “If you did this another way, I would have been marching with you.” Visitors still in line for the museum after the protest were told it was making an unscheduled early closure.
Calls and emails to the Guggenheim’s press office were not immediately returned.
Last night’s event is just the first of many the group is planning in the city to target the Guggenheim and NYU, Ross said yesterday. On Wednesday, the group is hosting a presentation at NYU by Nick McGeehan of Human Rights Watch on migrant labor conditions in Abu Dhabi.
[UPDATE] The Guggenheim’s director, Richard Armstrong, released this statement:
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is engaged in ongoing, serious discussions with our most senior colleagues in Abu Dhabi regarding the issues of workers’ rights. As global citizens, we share the concerns about human rights and fair labor practices and continue to be committed to making progress on these issues. At the same time, it is important to clarify that the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is not yet under construction.
Nick Pinto is a freelance writer living in New York.
From the G.U.L.F. (Global Ultra Luxury Faction) website:
Timeline of the action here, with lots of links to more info.
Click here for a PDF of the flyer used at the demonstration.
The following statement has been released by G.U.L.F. in response to a series of statements made by the Guggenheim Foundation this week:
Each time the Guggenheim speaks, its approach to migrant labour issues on Saadiyat Island sounds more like that of a global corporation than that of an educational or art institution. We would like to remind the Guggenheim that it’s a museum, with a mission to “explore ideas across cultures through dynamic curatorial and educational initiatives.” Museums should help the public come to a greater understanding of the global complexities we all face.
Each day the Guggenheim hides behind the excuse that “construction has not yet started on our building” is another day of evading decisions and actions which could prevent a future migrant worker’s servitude. Right now, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi’s infrastructure is being constructed. That infrastructure includes roads, sewage, water, electric, net pipes, etc., leading to the museum. But other components of the work are also under way. We can only assume that money has been transferred to the Guggenheim here in New York in order to hire the curators and administrators of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. We know that events off-site have already been organized. Works of art have certainly been bought, insured, and stored. Last but not least, Saadiyat Island is being sold to investors on the basis of the Guggenheim’s name, along with those of the Louvre, the British Museum and others. How can the Guggenheim claim that construction has not begun?
Even if we were to take at face value the claim that construction of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has not begun, we would say the following: NOW thousands of workers who will build your museum are taking on the massive debt that will take them years to repay; NOW workers are being recruited with promises that will not be fulfilled, for jobs that will pay less than they expected; NOW workers are applying for the passports that may be confiscated as soon as they land in the UAE; and, surely, NOW is the time to do something about all of this.
It is unfortunate but not surprising that the Guggenheim refuses to open its doors to a serious public dialogue about the migrant labor issues in Abu Dhabi. A museum of its stature must foster public education about the conditions under which art is viewed. The Guggenheim is stepping back from this social responsibility as it focuses on expanding into new global markets.
As for the underpaid Guggenheim guards’ wages in New York, passing off culpability to a subcontractor is no longer an acceptable practice, even in the corporate world. The Guggenheim should pay all employees at least a living wage, even if they are on a contractor’s payroll.
Sadly, the Guggenheim’s latest response confirms our expectation. It has tried to hide behind technicalities and PR spin as it waits for news cycles to die down. We know the composition of their board and it does not surprise us. A 1% Global Museum with a 1% Board that cares very little about its lowest-paid employees and the example it is setting to the world.
We will be back.