In a post published on May 4 on Instagram and widely relayed, Sandra Hegedüs announced her resignation from the Friends of the Palais de Tokyo association and its board of directors (the board of directors of the art center is for its part chaired by Laurent Dumas, whose mandate ends in September). The collector and patron was also linked to the institution via the SAM Art Projects prize that she founded: the winner was exhibited there every year. A partnership which ends in 2024, following a decision by the art center, taken several months ago. The reason given by Sandra Hegedüs for her departure is different: she says she does not want to be “associated with the new, very political orientation of the Palace”a program that “now seems dictated by the defense of “causes” (wokism, anti-capitalism, pro-Palestine, etc.)”. Defining herself on her Instagram account as “proud Zionist”the Brazilian denounces the fact that the Palais de Tokyo “sticks to an ideology”. Pointing “the last exhibition on Palestine” (which seems to refer to “Past Disquiet”, which documents four museums in exile from Chile, Nicaragua, South Africa and Palestine), Sandra Hegedüs mentions without citing them “biased and misleading points of view on the history of this conflict (Israeli-Palestinian, editor’s note), giving voice, without contradiction, to racist, violent and anti-Semitic remarks”. In a press release, the Palais de Tokyo claims not to have been informed of this decision, while Philippe Dian, president of the Friends association, independent of the institution, assures its president Guillaume Désanges “support for the project carried out by the Palais de Tokyo” and reminds that “the mission of the friends association is to support the Palais, not to pass judgment on its programming. It is up to each and every person to decide individually by deciding whether or not to join and remain in these bodies.”. The institution emphasizes that it “presents diverse programming that respects the plurality of points of view”, citing recent monographs by Miriam Cahn and Laura Lamiel, or even “La Morsure des Termites”, on the links between contemporary art and graffiti. Regarding “Past Disquiet”, she specifies that reinforced mediation accompanies it. Contacted, Guillaume Désanges, president of the Palais de Tokyo, affirms that “Friends members are free to express themselves, even (if) they regret the denigration. We have a lot of dialogues and moments together”. He concludes : “Art is a sometimes conflicting territory which reflects the fractures of society, the great polarizations. I am convinced of the need not to dismiss these subjects today. And we talk about a lot of other things too.”
