The scandal over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi made other participants of the cultural imitative follow their example
The Metropolitan Museum. Source: the Metropolitan Museum/artforum.com
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum announced they would not accept financial aid from the Saudi government or its representatives, citing the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, who is believed to be intentionally killed by the crown prince’s employees, Artforum reports with a link to the New York Times.
The Brooklyn Museum said in a statement to the New York Times that “in light of recent events and in harmony with the international community’s concerns”, it would not accept Saudi money for the exhibition Syria, Then and Now: Stories from Refugees a Century Apart that opened on October 13. The show is curated by Ayşin Yoltar-Yıldırım.
Met’s president and CEO Daniel H. Weiss also told the New York Times that the museum had accepted almost $20,000 from Saudi Arabia for a scholarly seminar but now the institution would not fund it itself.
The protest campaign was joined by the Middle East Institute and Columbia University, which postponed the scheduled meeting with Saudi artist Ahmed Mater though Saudi Arabia did not fund the event.
MoMA chose not to cancel a conversation with Kuwaiti artist Monira al Qadiri. The event was held without the funding from the Saudi authorities.
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