Noguchi Museum Workers Walk Out in Protest of New Keffiyeh Ban

Employees of the Noguchi Museum in Queens, New York, staged a walkout today in protest of a new internal dress code banning keffiyehs, which they deemed “distinctly anti-Palestinian.” This is the second staff work stoppage at the Noguchi, following an action on August 15. 

Some 50 workers—who, at an institution of roughly 70 employees, represent a majority of its labor force—have signed a petition demanding museum leadership rescind the policy, which was reportedly instated on August 14 in response to a single staffer wearing the Palestinian headscarf on-site. The petition, sent on August 19 by the group Noguchi Museum Rights, also demands that no disciplinary action will be taken against staffers who wear the garment or have taken part in protests against the policy. According to a spokesperson for the group, all gallery attendants and shop associates participated in today’s walk out; outside security staff temporarily assumed their duties.

In a statement emailed to ARTnews, workers decry the ban as “censorship” and say it is “particularly worrisome” given the life and legacy of sculptor Isamu Noguchi, “who himself faced discrimination and voluntary internment as a Japanese-American, and created work that directly addressed political themes, including crimes against humanity, and he intended for his art to be explored by a wide variety of perspective,” per the statement.

The statement added: “The policy was enacted by leadership as an attempt to take a neutral stance, yet banning the keffiyeh is distinctly anti-Palestinian. A keffiyeh ban not only fails to support our Palestinian affiliated colleagues, but was also immediately weaponized against a Black employee.”

In an internal email sent by museum director Amy Hau on August 15 and reviewed by ARTnews, employees were notified that Hau and the board had decided to close the museum from August 16 through 18, describing the “extended break” as an “opportunity to reset and recharge.” Hau added that museum leadership had heard the “feedback” regarding the dress code update and would discuss staff concerns.

Staff, however, were notified via an internal email sent on August 21 by Hau (and also reviewed by ARTnews) that the keffiyeh ban would remain in place.

“While we respect and support your right to express personal beliefs outside of work, we ask that you adhere to the updated dress code policy,” Hau wrote in her email, which restated the policy: “To maintain a neutral and professional environment, employees are prohibited from wearing clothes or accessories that display political messages, slogans, or symbols. This includes, but is not limited to, apparel or items that promote political parties, candidates or ideological movements.”

The policy continued that an employee’s appearance “should not create a disruption in the workplace.”

“We recognize that we are living in complex and challenging times, where personal expression and public discourse often intersect in unexpected ways,” a spokesperson for the Noguchi Museum told ARTnews. “Recently, concerns were raised about a staff member wearing a keffiyeh while at work at the Museum. While we understand that the intention behind wearing this garment was to express personal views, we recognize that such expressions can unintentionally alienate segments of our diverse visitorship. We discussed with staff that it is our duty as a public cultural institution to ensure that the Museum is welcoming to all.”

Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, art institutions in New York City and beyond have faced criticism by pro-Palestine protests for their perceived silence on Israel’s air and ground assault on Gaza, which has so far claimed 40,000 lives, according to Palestinian health authorities. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Brooklyn Museum, leadership has struggled to address the concerns of its audiences, and in some cases, have created new crises for themselves. In a viral March incident, the Museum of Modern Art apologized after two visitors were told by museum security that they could not enter the premises with a keffiyeh. The visitor holding the white-and-black scarf, Ju-Hyun Park, a Brooklyn-based writer, called the incident a “brazenly racist anti-Palestinian policy” on X. 

“After gathering all available information, we determined that a keffiyeh carried inside a visitor’s bag was misidentified as a banner during bag screening,” MoMA said in a statement at the time. In February, more than 500 demonstrators occupied MoMA’s lobby for a pro-Palestine action, many brandishing banners and wearing keffiyehs.

Meanwhile, a growing number of artists and curators who have publicly supported Palestine have said their events were canceled, exhibitions were altered without their consent, and residency offers have been rescinded. In May, the New York–based nonprofit National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) released the Art Censorship Index, an online database to track the growing list of censorship accusations in the United States. 

Among the incidents featured are the Frick Pittsburgh museum postponing a show of Islamic art, and Indiana University’s Eskenazi Museum of Art canceling a portion of a retrospective for American Palestinian artist Samia Halaby. (The show’s other portion still opened at the MSU Broad Art Museum in Michigan.)