Museum for Modern Art Arnhem 1998, exhibition: Power Up
In 1998, it was forbidden to people who sought asylum in the Netherlands to have a legal job. If the museum subscribes to the intentions underlying the exhibition, it should not only show hospitality but also take a political stand, find a way to side-step the law and appoint a number of asylum-seekers as guards, who take care of Dutch cultural heritage. Thus the title of my contribution: Guard on Art. The intention was to confront the museum with itself. I think the matter addressed by this exhibition should not be limited to the works on show, but should extend also, or perhaps even primarily, to the institutional and political role of the museum; in a broader perspective the role of all ‘western’ art museums.
