French Artists Target Centre Pompidou Hanhwa Over Hanwha Ties
A group of well-known French artists has called for a boycott of the Centre Pompidou’s new Seoul satellite museum, escalating a debate over cultural sponsorship, political accountability, and the language of “art-washing.” The museum, officially named Centre Pompidou Hanhwa, is scheduled to open on June 4.
The open letter, first published as an op-ed in Libération, argues that the partnership with the Hanwha Foundation of Culture masks profits linked to armed conflict. The petition specifically demands that the Centre Pompidou end its relationship with the foundation and urges artists and cultural workers to oppose the arrangement publicly.
At the center of the dispute is Hanwha Group’s 2021 relationship with Elbit Systems and Elta Systems. Elbit Systems is described as Israel’s largest defense contractor and recently signed a $100 million contract with Israel’s defense department. The Hanwha Foundation has sought to distance itself from Israel’s military operations, telling the Art Newspaper in 2024 that neither Hanwha Aerospace nor Hanwha Systems was involved in activities that would draw international condemnation and that neither company had exported weapons to Israel.
Still, the partnership has continued to draw scrutiny as the opening of Centre Pompidou Hanhwa has been presented as a gesture of cultural diplomacy between South Korea and France. The timing sharpened the optics further: on the same day the op-ed appeared, Chanel staged a runway show at the museum.
The signatories include Ali Cherri, who received the Venice Biennale’s Silver Lion for a promising young artist in 2022; Lili Reynaud-Dewar, who won the Pompidou-facilitated Prix Marcel Duchamp in 2021; Ariella Aïsha Azoulay; Mounir Fatmi; Théo Mercier; and Élisabeth Lebovici. A Pompidou representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The protest is not isolated. A similar campaign has also focused on Space ZeroOne in New York, which receives sponsorship from the Hanwha Foundation of Culture. In February, the Korean Cultural Alliance for Palestine asked artist Michael Joo to cancel an exhibition there; the show ultimately went forward.
As museums expand through global partnerships, the question is becoming harder to avoid: when does sponsorship become a liability, and who gets to decide where the line falls?
