The Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) will be closed to the public on Friday, January 23, joining hundreds of other Twin Cities businesses and organizations participating in a statewide economic blackout in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
Dubbed “ICE Out of Minnesota: Day of Truth and Freedom,” the impending strike comes after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Macklin Good while she was in her car on January 7, fueling local outrage and nationwide vigils in continued protest against the use of deadly force.
“This reflects our institutional values to center our community, support our staff, and to approach our work with care and safety in mind,” a spokesperson for the Walker Art Center said in an emailed statement to Hyperallergic. The Center’s decision to join the blackout follows artist Nile Harris’s announcement that he canceled his Friday run of his performance this house is not a home (2023–) at the Center “in solidarity with the general strike in Minneapolis.” He instructed ticket holders to attend his Thursday or Saturday performances instead.
MIA shared its participation in the strike on its website and social media, noting that it is “pausing operations to recognize the weight of this moment in our community.”
Local faith, labor, and community leaders announced plans for the strike in a press conference outside of the Hennepin County Government Center in Downtown Minneapolis on January 13. JaNaĂ© Bates Imari, Auxiliary Minister at Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Paul, called on “every single person, every family member, every teacher, every bus driver, every childcare worker, to come together, to be a community, to stand with one another” in acknowledgement of ICE’s surge of violence against Twin Cities residents following the killing of Macklin Good.
Outrage intensified in Minnesota and around the country this week after ICE agents detained and abducted a five-year-old boy on the way home from school in the Columbia Heights suburb of Minneapolis on Tuesday. The boy and his father were transported to a Texas detention center, reports said.
In addition to the Walker Art Center and MIA, multiple other art institutions and organizations have joined the call to remain closed on January 23. The Minnesota Center for Book Arts in Minneapolis also confirmed its participation via Instagram, stating that “the heart of our organization, artists, and the power of the press, beat with the feet of the people.”
The Textile Center announced its closure on Instagram, adding, “Our world is knitted, woven, stitched, quilted, and beaded together — connection is core to our field. Taking this day for community service and wellbeing helps us live out this value.”
The Minneapolis College of Art and Design shared its decision to postpone the opening reception for its winter exhibitions, originally scheduled for Friday, “out of consideration for the safety of our community and guests.”
Additional visual arts organizations, nonprofits, and creative spaces participating in the Day of Truth and Freedom include:
This demonstration of solidarity within the arts and cultural sector highlights the community’s commitment to social justice and human rights in the face of injustice. As these institutions stand together in protest, they send a powerful message of unity and support for those affected by ICE’s actions.
