If New Yorkers do not like something, they are not shy about saying so. Therefore, it is only fitting that the city’s long history of protest and political organising now has a dedicated wing at the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY), which opened its new Puffin Foundation Center for Social Activism on 25 September.
At the core of the centre is a new permanent show, Raise Your Voice: New York Activism, exploring the different tactics activist New Yorkers have used throughout the city’s history to effect change.
“The great thing about this exhibition is that it is not static, and we will be rotating objects in and out,” Elizabeth Sherman, MCNY’s deputy director and chief curator, tells The Art Newspaper. “I have a long list of artists I hope we can include as time goes on.”
The wide range of events currently covered includes labour organising, women’s suffrage, LGBTQ+ rights and environmentalism. And there are complex, multifaceted narratives—like the relatively obscure Hard Hat Riot of 1970, in which construction and office workers attacked students protesting the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings.
The $8m project is funded by the Puffin Foundation, a nonprofit that provides grants to artists and art organisations to amplify under-represented voices. Founded by the late Perry Rosenstein, the foundation has been supporting MCNY since 2009, when it announced the creation of the Puffin Gallery for Social Activism.
Installation view of Raise Your Voice: New York Activism at the new Puffin Foundation Center for Social Activism, Museum of the City of New York Photo: Brad Farwell for MCNY
That gallery opened in 2012 with Activist New York, a rotating exhibition that was the spiritual predecessor of Raise Your Voice. The long-running show closed in July, leaving some big shoes to fill—it was the institution’s most visited exhibition by students on school trips.
The new centre opens its doors at a time when the federal government is cracking down on how the Smithsonian Institution is presenting US history. President Donald Trump is planning to spend $84,000 to install signs outside the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, decrying what he claims is the institution’s inaccurate, overly negative view of the nation’s history.
“Erasing or repressing our shared culture seems to be all the rage these days—across the country, and a little bit down south from us,” Puffin Foundation president Neal Rosenstein said at the press preview for MCNY’s new activist centre. “But here at the museum and the centre, we’re celebrating our past and future with this expansion. We proudly recognise the untold numbers of New Yorkers who have been at the forefront of change that has helped shape our city, state and beyond.”
Sarah Seidman, MCNY’s curator of social activism, opted against a chronological approach for Raise Your Voice. Instead, it is loosely broken up into four sections highlighting how activists have used “Demonstrations”, “Organising”, “Arts & Media” and “Direct Action” to achieve their goals. In addition, there is a section that serves as a call to action for visitors titled “Your City, Your Move”, where voter registration forms are available (the deadline for New Yorkers is 24 October), as well as a digital poster-making station where visitors can design and download their own protest art.
This is a densely packed show, designed by the New York firm Isometric Studio, with screen-printed imagery and large-scale photographs installed directly on the walls. Art and artefacts on view include hand-painted protest signs, Molly Crabapple’s sketchbook, a Guerrilla Girls mask and even Gloria Steinem’s handwritten address book.
Charities, Citizens Union, 1903 Courtesy MCNY
Some objects from MCNY’s collection have not been on view for decades—if ever—such as a gorgeous 1903 campaign poster from Citizens Union decrying the corruption of Tammany Hall, specially conserved for the show.
The new centre will present temporary exhibitions as well, starting with Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Futures, curated by Monxo López and developed in partnership with the Éenda-Lŭnaapeewáhkiing (Land of the Lenape) Collective.
“This is not a history exhibition,” said Stephanie Hill Wilchfort, MCNY’s director, at the wing’s press preview. “It is an exhibition of a living culture and what its artists are making today.”
The show does not shy away from the dark truths of New York’s history, starting with the so-called purchase of what is now named Manhattan by the New Amsterdam colony 400 years ago. But it is also a celebration of the continuation of Lenape culture, from efforts to revive Indigenous languages to contemporary artists applying traditional techniques to distinctly contemporary subjects, such as Denise Bright Dove Ashton-Dunkley’s “Earthbound Luxe” sneakers, made with fish leather.
In the end, the new Puffin Foundation Center for Social Activism underscores MCNY’s commitment to telling the stories of all New Yorkers—regardless of race, religion or even politics.
