We ask that the Memorial Art Gallery reconsider this particular event because it conflicts with their fundamental institutional values of stewardship, integrity, community, and sociability.

APEX Accelerators, the program MAG is scheduled to host, “plays a critical role in the [Defense] Department's efforts to identify and engage small businesses and with a wide range of businesses entering and participating in the defense supply-chain.” Our economy’s dependence on arms manufacturing and military spending is neither sustainable nor ethical. The emphasis on military investment necessitates the continuous development and sale of weapons, which in turn leads to the perpetuation of conflict and violence globally. This economic model not only prioritizes profit over human lives, but also contributes to the destruction of communities and the exacerbation of suffering around the world. It is troubling to think that a cultural institution such as the Memorial Art Gallery would lend its platform to an event that promotes further enmeshment of our local industries with the military supply chain.

Hosting such an event while the military industrial complex manufactures the weapons used to commit ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine is particularly reprehensible. The atrocities committed in Palestine, where countless lives are being lost and communities are being destroyed, are solely enabled by the militarization and the arms trade of the United States. The near complete destruction of all healthcare and food producing facilities has led to catastrophic levels of famine and disease. By providing a space for this forum, the gallery risks appearing indifferent to the suffering of people caught in conflicts fueled by the very industry this event supports.

Art has long been a medium for challenging societal norms, advocating for justice, and promoting peace. The Memorial Art Gallery has a unique opportunity to embody these values by refusing to host this event. The U.S. military is the largest institutional producer of greenhouse gasses in the world, and has relied on the death and destruction of people, including artists, across the globe to maintain itself. The gallery has a responsibility to use its platform to stay true to the listed values of “Stewardship and Integrity” and “Community”.
Consider the message that hosting this event sends to our community and the world.

Cover photo: “Jerusalem Is My City” by Palestinian Artist Heba Zagout -  martyred October 13, 2023 with her two small children. May they rest in eternal peace.