Guggenheim To Stay Open For Inauguration, Plant Yoko Ono's 'Wish Tree'

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Upper East Side's Guggenheim Museum will not be closing its doors on Jan. 20 despite a nationwide call on cultural institutions to boycott Donald Trump's incoming administration. Instead of closing, the museum will opt to install Yoko Ono's "Wishing Tree," at its doors and invite museumgoers to share their wishes for the future.

"In a spirit of community and in keeping with our founding belief that art can influence human behavior and open peoples’ eyes and minds, we will be “planting” a temporary installation of Yoko Ono’s “Wish Tree” outside the museum January 20–22. We invite you to participate by writing your wishes for the future and hanging them on the branches," read a social media post from the Guggenheim.

A number of museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions will be closed Friday to participate in the J20 Art Strike. The art strike has been organized to "combat the normalization of Trumpism—a toxic mix of white supremacy, misogyny, xenophobia, militarism, and oligarchic rule," according to its website.

Photo by Ed Schipul via Flickr/Creative Commons