New York’s Museum of Modern Art has apologized for denying entry to two visitors who said museum security told them they could not enter the institution wearing a kefiyeh, a headscarf that has traditionally served as a symbol of Palestinian liberation.
In a statement shared with ARTnewsand first published in part by Hyperallergica museum spokesperson said: “Following a visitor’s social media post, we implemented our established process for reviewing incidents on site. After gathering all available information, we determined that a kefiyeh carried inside a visitor’s bag was misidentified as a banner during bag selection. We made a mistake and apologize. Keffiyehs are not, and have never been, on the Museum’s list of prohibited items. We are working with staff to ensure our guidelines and training on this are clear , and we have contacted the visitor to apologize.”
Related Articles
On Saturday, March 16, Ju-Hyun Park, a Brooklyn-based freelance writer, said on X/Twitter that he and a friend were denied entry to the museum because of the black and white cloth in Park’s bag . In subsequent interviews with Hyperallergic e Eye of the Middle EastPark said security staff had flagged down a supervisor after spotting the scarf and the couple was turned away, allegedly without receiving a reason for the decision.
Park called the incident “blatantly racist anti-Palestinian politics” about X.
From the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Whitney Museum, New York’s cultural institutions have become scenes of demonstrations against Israeli military actions in Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas. In February, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in the MoMA atrium to call for a permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Images and videos posted on Instagram showed protesters brandishing banners that read “Free Palestine, from the river to the sea,” “Cease fire now,” “Cultural workers stand with Gaza” and other phrases.
More than 1,000 custom-printed mock museum guides have been accused by various MoMA board members of “directly [funding] Zionist occupation through arms manufacturing, lobbying and corporate investment.”
