Museums cancel Kehinde Wiley exhibitions amid sexual assault allegations

After complaints about sexual assault and misconduct, many museums have decided not to move forward with exhibits featuring the work of artist Kehinde Wiley, The New York Times References.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art and Miami's Pérez Art Museum both said they would not host Wiley's touring exhibit, “An Archeology of Silence.” Before that, the Joslyn Museum of Art in Omaha, Nebraska promoted the opening of a different exhibit, “Kehinde Wiley: Omaha,” which was to feature portraits of the city's residents. Joslyn said she is “reviewing” her schedule and will “announce any updates at a later date.”

Last month, several men filed complaints against Wiley, a highly successful artist best known for painting the 2018 presidential portrait of Barack Obama. The first allegation was made by artist Joseph Awuah-Darko, who posted on Instagram that the Wiley attacked him twice during and after a dinner in Ghana. Awuah-Darko said the meeting had started consensually, but then Wiley allegedly forced himself on Awuah-Darko.

This week, artist and activist Derrick Ingram said Wiley raped and sexually assaulted him during their brief relationship in 2021. A third man, Terrell Armistead, accused Wiley of raping him during an alleged encounter in 2010 .Wiley's accusers are reportedly planning to file a class action lawsuit against him.

Wiley has denied the allegations against him. In one Instagram In his own post earlier this week, he said his meeting with Awuah-Darko was consensual and that in the years that followed, Awuah-Darko contacted him “constantly,” “expressing his love for me, my talent and my job.” He went on to claim that Awuah-Darko “managed to conspire with another person with whom I had a brief consensual meeting in 2021” – apparently Ingram – who was also “hoping for a more significant relationship”.

Through an attorney, Wiley denied knowing or knowing Armistead (via ArtNews). The lawyer also said Wiley “will pursue every avenue available to him, legal and non-legal, to defend his reputation.”

The Minneapolis Institute of Art was scheduled to present “An Archeology of Silence” in February 2025. Announcing its decision to put the exhibit on hold, the museum said it had “considered taking on the Kehinde Wiley exhibit, but as a result of these of the unfortunate allegations that we will not proceed with this presentation.”

The exhibition was due to open at the Pérez Art Museum in just a few weeks, scheduled to run from July to January 2025. The museum said only that it had “suspended plans” to host the show.

In a statement about the cancellations, Wiley said: “It's disappointing that this social media-driven construction is distracting from the tour's goal: to shine a light on the inequities Black and Brown people face in our society . These claims are completely false, raising more questions about their credibility and motives than there are facts to support their authenticity.”