The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) has canceled its iteration of a traveling survey in honor of artist Kehinde Wiley, who is currently facing allegations of sexual assault.
The museum's decision came hours after the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, announced that it would postpone a show showcasing Wiley's work, scheduled to premiere in September.
The exhibition, called 'An Archaeology of Silence,' began in the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and has traveled around the country. The Minneapolis museum announced plans to halt the exhibition in response to multiple men making accusations against Wiley, all of which he has denied.
The controversy about Wiley started last month when British-born Ghanaian artist Joseph Awuah-Darko posted on Instagram that Wiley had twice attacked him in 2021, both before and after a dinner in Ghana held in the painter's honor. After initiating a consensual sexual contact with Wiley, Awuah-Darko told The New York Times that the painter eventually forced himself on him.
In an email, the museum said it "was considering taking the Kehinde Wiley exhibition, but as a result of these unfortunate allegations, we will not be proceeding with this presentation."
Other museums also disassociated themselves from Wiley. The Pérez Art Museum said shortly after Minneapolis's announcement that it had "suspended plans" to host the touring exhibition but did not provide any reason.
On Thursday, June 13, Wiley once again denied the accusations in a statement. He said that it is disappointing that this social media-driven fabrication is distracting from the goal of the tour, which is to shed light on the inequities Black and Brown people face in society.
Furthermore, he claimed that the allegations were completely false and that it raises more questions about their credibility and motivation than there are facts supporting their authenticity.
