Why not show solidarity with Gaza?

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70 of the National Museum’s own employees have issued an appeal to the management to show solidarity with Gaza. Director of the National Museum Ingrid Røynesdal replied that “the main line of the board and management as the National Museum is not to take a position on geopolitical conflicts”.

It’s new for us. Didn’t the museum project the Ukrainian flag on the facade and call for the preservation of Ukrainian cultural heritage in a longer chronicle?

It is possible that Røynesdal is anxious about the criticism such markings created for its predecessor. At the same time that the museum marked its support for Ukraine, the collaboration with the Fredriksen family, who are not afraid to conduct business in geopolitical conflict areas, continued.

Røynesdal probably knows that Fredriksen has no intention of returning Vladimir Putin’s friendship medal. She has to weigh that against the political pressure for the museum to increase its own earnings. Statements are crafted with care.

What about the critically acclaimed exhibition the museum is showing by Britta Marakatt-Labba? She raises the geopolitical conflict between the Sami and the state. Something the museum conveys in capital letters.

The museum could safely condemn Russia while the West was in shock over a new war in Europe. It is less safe, as news from the world attests, to stand up against human rights violations and destruction of cultural heritage committed by Israel.

Rather than seeking shelter in neutrality and vague formulations, Røynesdal can shape a new direction for the museum. It is time to stop treating differently what should be equal.

We hope that the museum in future tries to build an ideological facade that does not immediately crack in the sun.

Sebastian Kjølaas

Chairman, Visual artists in Oslo