Why Climate Activists Are Gluing Their Hands to Treasured Works of Art

Abigail Adams
·3 min read
On Sunday 9 October, climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion glued themselves to the glass covering Picasso’s “Massacre in Korea” at the NGV.
On Sunday 9 October, climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion glued themselves to the glass covering Picasso’s “Massacre in Korea” at the NGV.
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Extinction Rebellion Victoria/Twitter

Activists across the globe are gluing themselves to some of the world's most precious pieces of art to raise awareness for one of the most pressing issues facing humanity: climate change.

The most recent protest took place Sunday at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, where two activists from international group Extinction Rebellion glued their hands to the perspex covering Pablo Picasso's "Massacre en Corée" (Massacre in Korea), according to Buzzfeed News.

Additionally, they laid out a banner that read: "Climate Chaos = War and Famine." The statement "highlighted the connection between climate breakdown & human suffering," according to a series of tweets from the organization.

The protesters were ultimately arrested, according to The Guardian, which also reported they were released without charges. A spokesperson for the group told the newspaper that the painting was not damaged in the process.

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Homewood said the group's intention was "always to glue on to the perspex protecting" the artwork, not the art itself.

The spokesperson went on to tell The Guardian that a conservator used acetone to dissolve the glue.

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Sunday's protest is the latest in a string of similar actions in which climate protesters have glued themselves to artwork hoping to bring attention to the seriousness of climate change.

Among the groups taking part are Ultima Generazione and Just Stop Oil, reported BuzzFeed News.

"Many criticize our actions because 'we should leave museums in peace,' " Ultima Generazione wrote on social media in July alongside a video of a recent protest. "Maybe they don't understand that the inconvenience we created is nothing compared to 1 billion climate migrants and to the many deaths that the climate crisis is causing already."

The group then shared an article from The Guardian detailing a report that suggests 1.2 billion people could be displaced by the climate crisis by 2050.

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Both Just Stop Oil and Ultima Generazione have received financial support from the Climate Emergency Fund, a California-based fund started in 2019, according to the Observer. (Extinction Rebellion serves as a coalition partner to the organization, according to its website.)

"These protests are so awesome," Climate Emergency Fund executive director Margaret Klein Salamon. told the outlet. "People come to this museum to look at this painting, but we need them to look at the reality of the climate emergency instead."

Salaman went on to state that the funding only goes towards legal activity, not "high-stakes civil disobedience," per the outlet.

According to its website, the Climate Emergency Fund is currently promoting "sustained" and "disruptive protest" in 11 different countries worldwide during what it calls an "October Rising."