More than 100 French artists, researchers, and art professionals have signed an open letter calling for a boycott of Centre Pompidou Hanwha in Seoul, which is set to inaugurate on June 4, in protest of Hanwha Group’s ties to Israeli weapon manufacturers. 

The institution is a joint initiative between Centre Pompidou and the Hanwha Foundation of Culture, the philanthropic arm of South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate, Hanwha Group. The project has drawn criticism since its announcement in 2023, following Hanwha’s 2021 partnership with Israeli defense contractors Elbit Systems and Elta Systems to manufacture and export arm supplies to the Israel Defense Forces.

The petition demands an end to the collaboration, stating that Hanwha’s business is “linked to the Palestinian genocide” and denouncing the project as “art-washing.” The letter also takes aim at broader institutional practices, reading: “[W]e more broadly condemn the commodification of culture and the international expansion of museums through alliances with multinational corporations.”

Signatories include 2021 Marcel Duchamp Prize winner Lili Reynaud-Dewar, Algerian-Palestinian Jewish scholar Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, and French Lebanese artist-filmmaker Ali Cherri. The latter lodged a civil complaint in early April over a 2024 Israeli airstrike on Beirut that killed seven civilians, including his parents. 

An op-ed was simultaneously published in the French newspaper Libération, following a Chanel runway show held at Centre Pompidou Hanwha on May 26. Earlier, on May 19, activists had gathered outside the building for pro-Palestine demonstrations. Protests have also extended to Space ZeroOne in New York, a Hanwha Foundation-sponsored venue. In February, artist-led collective Korean Cultural Alliance for Palestine called on Korean American artist Michael Joo to cancel his exhibition “Sweat Models 1991–2026.” The show opened as scheduled. 

Neither Centre Pompidou nor the Hanwha Foundation of Culture has responded to the petition. 

Yuqian Fan is an editorial assistant at ArtAsiaPacific.