On Art 'Vandalism' and Civil Resistance in Museums

“The apparent ‘vandalism’ of famous artworks by climate activists has, since 2022, helped bring the urgency of the climate emergency into the public consciousness and shocked many of the world’s comfortable art lovers. This fascinating study provides a crucial backdrop to this activism. Far from being senseless and irrational as they are often portrayed, it shows that these actions follow a rich tradition of artists, activists and others disrupting the normalcy of museums and galleries to force society into asking itself what it really values. Expanding beyond this history, the book draws on a rich series of interviews with both campaigners and museum directors to point the way to fruitful future synergies between cultural institutions and the activists calling for cultural change. This is a deep and rich account of a very contemporary but not so modern phenomenon.” Dr Charlie Gardner, FRSA, Associate Senior Lecturer at the University of Kent Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology and campaigner with Scientists for Extinction Rebellion, UK ""In this fascinating book, Anne Bessette brings together an original dataset of attacks on artworks in museums to ask what they reveal about what art ‘means’. Bessette shows that an attack on an artwork is never simply an attack on an artwork: how artists, museums, media and criminal justice systems respond will vary according to who does it, to what sort of artwork, for what purposes, in what sort of circumstances (in contrast, the extent of the damage caused seems much less significant). Every page has eye-opening detail; the book as a whole is an object lesson in applying analytical method to bring tacit understandings about legitimacy and deviance (and art and conflict) to the surface. It’s a joy from start to finish."" Dr Graeme Hayes, Head of Sociology and Policy, Aston University, UK ""Anne Bessette has plumbed the emerging complexities of museums as sites of vandalism, protest and supposed neutrality, and her thorough examination reveals a daunting but essential truth – that museums have a crucial role to play in addressing the ecological crises confronting global society. As formidable as this challenge is for the museum world, Bessette’s vision for the future of museums is undeniably truthful and heartening."" Robert R. Janes, Canada Museum scholar/practitioner and visiting research fellow at the School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester, UK ""A deep and relevant resource for museum scholars, Bessette’s book reminds us of the pivotal role museums play today, particularly in relation to our current political and ecological challenges."" Beatriz Salinas Marambio, Curator and Researcher, Chile-Denmark