There’s lingering frustration for museum lovers who were greeted by locked doors Thursday at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
It was back open Friday, but only after sending people away to avoid a climate protest.
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The museum is famous for the infamous multi-million dollar art heist three decades ago. People come from all over the see the empty frames where the stolen paintings used to live. But a climate activist group Extinction Rebellion had another plan for Thursday afternoon, and when they showed up, the museum decided to shut down.
Extinction Rebellion is the same group that halted the U.S. Open in New York Thursday night. They also have a presence in Boston.
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“We were protesting very quietly. It was a banner and some flags,” said member Jule Manitz.
Mantiz said they had plans for a peaceful, non-violent demonstration calling attention to climate emergencies they say threaten millions of species.
“I want people to ring the alarm of this nearly extinction crisis and I want the Biden administration and Massachusetts government to make a plan to protect 30% of land and water by 2030,” Manitz explained.
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The museum’s Communications Director Donna Hardwick was not happy about having to turn away roughly 1,300 guests on one of the hottest days of the summer, and a day when admission to the museum was free.
“It’s very unfortunate. It would have been a great opportunity for the kids and the community to come out,” Hardwick said. “People who don’t have the means and are often times looking forward to these evenings.”
Manitz said the closure was unnecessary.
“I was surprised….extreme overreaction and to be honest kind of silly,” she told NBC10 Boston.
Manitz acknowledges some of the group’s more alternative methods for shoring up support in the past, and said their goal was simply to get people to reflect by hanging their material in the empty frames at the museum, and passing out literature.
“And obviously if people don’t want to talk to us, they don’t have to. We’re not going to run after them,” she added.
“It was really thinking about the community and thinking about the art itself. We have to be thinking about what’s in the best interest,” Hardwick said of the museum’s decision.
Anyone who had a ticket for yesterday’s free admission is encouraged to reach out to the museum – they plan to honor them.
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