Barcelona’s Museu de l’Artwork Prohibit, which homes a group of greater than 200 artworks which have been censored or in any other case focused for his or her content material, has shuttered to the general public for the foreseeable future following months-long labor protests.
The museum, which opened to the general public lower than two years in the past, introduced on June 27 that it was “forced to close its doors indefinitely,” citing “financial losses” attributed to a sequence of protests led by the Solidarity and Unity of Employees (SUT) union outdoors its constructing entrance. The picket actions have been ongoing since late February, following the Museu de l’Artwork Prohibit’s termination of its contract with Magmacultura, which employed seven customer companies employees.
Within the final 20 years, the SUT union has led dozens of labor protests at cultural establishments throughout Spain, together with Museo Reina Sofía, Museo del Prado, and Museu Picasso Barcelona. The strike at Museu de l’Artwork Prohibit concerned unionized employees at Magmacultura and two different subcontractors, Silicia and Palacios y Museos, who accused the museum of “precarious working conditions” attributable to an alleged lack of temperature management, seasonally acceptable work apparel, and furnishings for sitting throughout lengthy work shifts.
The museum mentioned that the continuing labor actions have led to dramatic losses in income which have compelled it to shut to the general public for now.
The Museu de l’Artwork Prohibit has defended itself by saying that it has handed three labor inspections, attended two mediation classes with unionized employees, and acquired “a favorable court ruling” proving it has not violated employees’ proper to strike.
In a public assertion shared with Hyperallergic, Museu de l’Artwork Prohibit claimed the museum recorded a 75% drop in income on account of the pickets, anticipating losses of as much as 95% in comparison with final yr. A courtroom document reveals that, by means of April 19, the museum offered a complete of three,502 tickets — 39 of which have been offered for the reason that protests started on February 26 and the museum subsequently closed to the general public from February 27 by means of March 11.
“What we have suffered is a boycott rather than the demands of a union,” Lidia Penelo, a museum spokesperson, instructed Hyperallergic. Penelo added that the establishment is presently in search of to rework itself right into a “nomadic museum with traveling exhibits,” and plans to tour Italy this fall.
The strike outdoors the Museu de l’Artwork Prohibit consists of unionized employees from subcontractors Magmacultura, Silicia, and Palacios y Museos.
The Museu de l’Artwork Prohibit homes dozens of artworks which have been attacked by repressive regimes, non secular establishments, or socio-political teams, reminiscent of Fabián Cháirez’s gender-bending portray of Emiliano Zapata, “La Revolución” (2014); David Wojnarowicz’s movie “A Fire in My Belly” (1986–87), which the Smithsonian’s Nationwide Portrait Gallery faraway from view in 2010 in response to political strain; and Gustav Klimt’s charcoal sketches for the destroyed ceiling work, “Floating Nude with Arms Outstretched [Study for ‘Medicine’]” (1897/1898). The museum was based by Catalan enterprise government Tatxo Benet, whose private artwork assortment types the premise of the establishment’s holdings, with the goal of displaying objects that the general public would in any other case not have the chance to see.
In its assertion, the union alleged that the establishment prioritizes defending its assortment over its workers. “Faced with a Museum of Prohibited Art that has become a caricature of itself, a mixture of hypocrisy and cynicism, the majority of visitors decided to stand in solidarity with the strikers and not enter a museum that peddles [one] narrative and has a completely contradictory attitude,” the union’s assertion mentioned.
Protesting employees have demanded enhancements to work circumstances, amongst different requests together with elevated staffing, acceptable breaks, and an finish to short-term contracts.
“This situation is common in many workplaces, where workers are treated as less than mere objects,” an SUT consultant instructed Hyperallergic.
