This is a declaration by the activist group Occupy Museums, stating the direct actions they have taken to expose a cultural system of inequality and exploitation within the American and International art world. Inspired by the 2011 Occupy Wall Street Movement, Occupy Museums seeks to bring the critique of wealth and inequality to the cultural sphere where finance and aesthetics currently intersect.

“WE OCCUPY MUSEUMS TO RECLAIM SPACE FOR MEANINGFUL CULTURE BY AND FOR THE 99%. WE BELIEVE THAT ART AND CULTURE ARE THE SOUL OF THE COMMONS. ART IS NOT A LUXURY!”