Activists staged a guerrilla protest at the Noguchi Museum over the weekend, placing critical wall labels condemning the institution’s ban on keffiyehs. The intervention coincides with museum workers filing a petition to unionize, highlighting ongoing tensions over leadership decisions and staff grievances.
The Noguchi Museum has faced significant public scrutiny following its controversial keffiyeh ban, which was introduced in August after members of staff wore the traditional Palestinian scarves that has come to symbolize solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The policy sparked protests, a staff walkout, and widespread media coverage, further intensifying debates about workplace culture and free expression at the institution. Three staff members were fired for not complying with the mandate.
In September, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri turned down an award from the Noguchi Museum citing the Queens institution’s policy banning staff from wearing “political dress.”
A picture of guerilla wall text at the Noguchi Museum. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Bloom
The latest action saw activists install new wall texts around the museum. Rather than rewriting the texts that accompany the works by Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi that are on display, the labels describe ordinary objects around the institution as tools of oppression. For example, one guerrilla wall text described a bench as a “Bench of Banishment” and a chair as a “Seat of Silence,” the group confirmed in an email to Artnet. The protest was first reported by Hyperallergic.
“This action was done independently to show support for the recently fired staff. No current or former museum staff knew about it, were involved, or gave their permission,” the activists said in an emailed statement.
The activists provided images of the guerilla wall labels to Artnet, including one that reads: “This wall is a boundary the museum uses to erase culture, banning keffiyeh, and firing staff who challenge its racist views.”
A picture of guerilla wall text at the Noguchi Museum. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Bloom
The wall-label intervention comes as museum workers filed a petition to unionize under Local 2110 UAW with the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that oversees and protects unionization efforts. A database maintained by the NLRB confirms that employees with the museum filed a bid to unionize on November 29.
“We respect our employees’ right to decide whether to unionize, through an NLRB-conducted election,” the Noguchi Museum said in an emailed statement.
The Local 2110 UAW, in a news release sent on behalf of the Noguchi Museum workers, did not cite the keffiyeh ban as one of the reasons for organizing, though an affiliate of the union admitted it was among the factors some workers may have been concerned with.
A room at the Noguchi Museum in New York. Photo: Nicholas Knight. © The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, NY / Artists Rights Society.
Mariko Singhal, an educator at the Noguchi Museum who is among the leaders of the unionization effort, said the workers all want similar things including “job security, keeping the benefits we have and expanding the benefits we deserve.”
“We’ve been talking about organizing union for a while. I think initial conversation started around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when museum workers were laid off at the MoMA,” she said. “We really just want a democratic process, not leadership making any unilateral decisions.”
Singhal said that the union organizers are not yet sure how many of the museum’s 70 to 80 eligible employees will show interest in the unionization effort. But the initial letter of intent included six signatures. At least a few more people have signed on since then.
“I think because museums are in the nonprofit sector, we have a history of being underpaid and our benefits in general isn’t great compared to the same position in say corporate. But we all love what we do,” she said. “I believe a lot of workers have been leaving and letting go for living wages. But we can do what we love and also paid for what we love as well.”
She said the workers have not yet drafted their specific demands, such as what percent of a pay raise, which they will try to negotiate for if the union is established. But she blamed ongoing tension at the museum over high turnover among leadership.
A picture of guerilla wall text at the Noguchi Museum. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Bloom
“The unionization started way before [Palestinian issues] came into the conversation,” Singhal said. “But we believe that if we had a union, that story would have been very different and we would have had more dialogue and more conversations with leadership. So, I believe that would have played out better.”
Singhal credited museum leadership for showing an effort to discuss pay increases and she said that sentiment at the museum has been particularly tense amid the “publicity attack” on the museum over the keffiyeh ban that has put the stress on the staff.
“Speaking from my perspective, the education department has always been a great working environment for educators,” she said. “We want to unionize and petition has been filed, so the next step will be the election. And if we get a majority, we will select a bargaining committee, but that’s a long process.”