Extinction Rebellion holds climate action at closed Rijksmuseum during Museum Night

Activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) projected the text “Closed due to climate crisis” onto the facade of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam at the start of Museum Night on Saturday evening. XR had announced that it would be running a campaign at the museum during Museum Night, which then decided to keep its doors closed.

De echte bedreiging is de klimaat- en ecologische crisis. ING pompt miljarden in de fossiele industrie en draagt zo bij aan extreem weer, zoals de overstromingen in Spanje. Het Rijksmuseum moet stoppen met het verdoezelen van ING's vervuilende praktijken met onze kunst. [2/3] pic.twitter.com/zucYAnZs9M

— Extinction Rebellion Nederland (@NLRebellion) November 2, 2024

The climate activists set up a projector on the Museumplein. They also handed out leaflets with the slogan “No art on a dead planet”. A spokeswoman for XR said that passers-by reacted well to the action. However, an ANP photographer saw angry people trying to visit the museum and bad-mouth the activists.

The organization behind the Museum Night offered people who had bought tickets until Saturday afternoon to cancel their tickets in order to reverse the Rijksmuseum's cancellation. A spokesperson for the organization estimates that around 700 people took advantage of this. Nevertheless, it is “as busy as ever”, the spokesperson said. In Amsterdam, more than 70 museums are taking part in the Museum Night.

Earlier this week, the closure of the Rijksmuseum caused great disappointment among the climate action group. “It is very unfortunate that the Rijks is acting as if we are a security risk. This is pointing the finger at the wrong association,” said a spokesperson. XR has therefore decided to demonstrate against ING's sponsorship of the Rijksmuseum in other ways during the Museum Night. For this reason, XR has already demonstrated against the museum six times.

Extinction Rebellion wants the Rijksmuseum to stop working with ING, one of the museum's sponsors, because this bank invests in the oil and gas industry.

In a press release, the climate action group claims that the Rijksmuseum's sponsorship relationship with ING is “morally reprehensible” as well as “completely unnecessary.” According to XR, last year, the Rijksmuseum's total income amounted to 123.3 million euros. ING's contribution is estimated at around 700,000 euros. “By ending the sponsorship relationship, the museum will lose less than 0.6% of its income,” XR says.