Students at art show cover artworks to protest Cooper Union's 'complicity in Israel's genocide'

The Students for Justice in Palestine chapters at Cooper Union and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City co-posted a statement on Instagram about an end-of-year art show, stating, “NO BUSINESS AS USUAL DURING GENOCIDE.”

In the June 21 post, the groups featured a series of images from Cooper Union where students opted to cover their works with black veils or remove them altogether from the gallery as a means to protest against Israel. 

[RELATED: ‘THEY SHOULD BE WORRIED’: Activist threatens continued anti-Israel protests in future]

In the caption of the post, the Cooper Union SJP stated: “At this years [sic] End of Year Show at the Cooper Union, students from across schools [sic] disrupted the galleries by covering their work and calling attention to the institutions [sic] ongoing complicity in Israel’s genocide of Palestine, as well as administration’s censorship and repression of Pro-Palestine activism on campus.”

“Unlike every past EOYS, administrators closed this year’s show to the public, a clear attempt to suppress the visibility of potential protest or solidarity with a free Palestine,” the group continued.

The SJP group also noted that the protest modeled a 2013 demonstration where the “3rd floor lobby, which traditionally exhibits architecture thesis students’ work, was totally vacated and painted black.” 

The group also detailed that “[a]rt students also removed or covered their work, attaching sheets of paper that denounced the schools [sic] repression and echoed a list of demands including disclosure and divestment from all entities that profit from Israeli genocide in Palestine.”

[RELATED: LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA: UNC SJP attacks US on July 4, mocks ‘Star Spangled Banner]

In addition to showing photos of the vacated gallery, the SJP chapter attacked what it termed “[t]he administration’s concurrent infringements on student’s intellectual and creative liberties, and their repeated violations to our safety and wellbeing.” 

The Cooper Union SJP has demanded full disclosure of the school’s investment portfolio, divestment from Israel, and for the board of trustees to implement “DEMOCRATIC decision-making structures.”

The SJP has also called for an “ACADEMIC BOYCOTT of all israeli [sic] institutions, and specifically the termination of the School of Art’s exchange program with Bezalel Academy of Art & Design in Jerusalem/Al-Quds.”

Campus Reform has contacted Cooper Union and the Fashion Institute of Technology for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.