The Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles is hunkering down in response to the protests against mass raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and heightening military activity under the direction of President Donald Trump. Citing “evolving conditions” in downtown LA, MOCA announced that the Geffen Contemporary will remain closed through the weekend to “prioritize the safety of its staff and visitors.” The building is located near a cluster of federal buildings that have been the epicenter of demonstrations.
The change in operating hours at the Geffen follows the president’s deployment of around 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles to stifle protests over his immigration crackdown. Earlier this week, Los Angeles authorities placed the city’s downtown under curfew from 8pm to 6am.
The closure interrupts the ongoing 10-day durational performance Prison State by Russian artist and activist-in-exile Nadya Tolokonnikova of the feminist activist group Pussy Riot. The project, which was slated to run through June 14, draws from Tolokonnikova’s experiences of incarceration and government surveillance by recreating the Russian prison cell where she was confined for nearly two years. But now this performance, as well as the artist’s panel discussion and live concert scheduled for June 15, have been postponed to a later date.
“POLICE STATE is closed by the police state,” Tolokonnikova wrote on Instagram in response to the programming change. “Every single event I did in Russia was shut down by the cops – and now it’s starting to feel a lot like Russia.”
MOCA’s Grand Avenue location will also be winding down operations today at 5pm local time, canceling its weekly late-night programming that typically extends its hours until 8pm; visitors with tickets to impacted programs will be contacted with options for refunds or rescheduling. The institution will be joined by its neighbor, the Broad museum, which made a similar announcement on its Instagram story. Both cultural institutions are located within the square-mile radius currently under curfew orders.
The museum closures follow a joint statement issued earlier this week by four Los Angeles arts organizations opposing the ICE sweeps and standing in solidarity with impacted immigrants and protesters. Yesterday, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA) — which is also in the city’s curfew zone — put out a message on its Instagram and Facebook pages affirming its solidarity with those protesting.
“Art grounds us in our collective human condition, and we believe in its power against the isolating forces that are relentlessly trying to keep us apart and to relinquish our sense of a shared humanity,” ICA LA wrote in its statement.
The museum will remain open during its regular hours, but has moved evening programming online.
In a statement to Hyperallergic, Tolokonnikova expressed support for the ongoing demonstrations against ICE, which has been conducting mass raids in the city and across the country.
“I hope America pushes back,” Tolokonnikova said, adding that she has been “feeling hope on the streets when coming or leaving the museum the past few days.”
