Yesterday, ArtNews published an article discussing the J20 Art Strike, a call for museums, galleries, theathers, studios, venues, art schools, non-profits, and artists to “shut down” on inauguration day as a way to “fight back” against the new presidency. The ArtNews article also detailed many museums’ decisions to close, remain open, or change their admissions policies for Inauguration Day and the days following and/or proceeding. This live list is constantly being updated as museums make their decisions known, and include museums like The Whitney, The National Museum of Women in the Arts, the ICA Boston, and the Guggenheim. Many museums like The Whitney have made public statements saying that “This is America. And we really need to express what we believe…It is our role not to let them own what we think of as America but to express what we believe is America.” Likewise, the ICA Boston has stated that they “believe strongly in the role of museums to advance discourse and engagement in a pluralistic society, and invite all in our community to join us in reflection and conversation on January 20 and in the weeks, months, and years to come.” Many museums are offering free or pay-what-you-wish admission on Inauguration Day as a way of welcoming all visitors into spaces of reflection and conversation, and The National Museum of Women in the Arts is even offering “Nasty Women” tours to visitors on Inauguration Day.

With the Inauguration just a week away, where museums stand in all this is a topic that is hard to ignore. What do you think about changing admission prices and choosing to remain open or close for the day on Inauguration Day? Is this a topic your museum has grappled with? If so, how was it resolved? Do you think museums should be making statements about our current political situation? Let us know in the comments below.

For the original ArtNews article, click here.

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