As nuclear powers modernize their arsenals and nuclear deterrence experiences a political resurgence, an international initiative of artists is turning to the power of images. Since September 10, 2026, MoMA PS1 in New York has been presenting artistic responses to nuclear weapons in the exhibition “Homeroom: Artists Against the Bomb”. The exhibition regards art as an instrument of social mobilization that goes beyond the expression of protest. The exhibition is on view through February 8, 2027.
Image above: Installation view of Homeroom: Artists Against the Bomb on view at MoMA PS1 from September 10, 2026 through February 8, 2027.Courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Steven Paneccasio
The notion that humanity could annihilate itself at the push of a button is among the most enduring and reprehensible achievements of technological progress. The possibility that emerged with Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 has lost none of its menace, despite decades of disarmament negotiations. On the contrary: According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the nine nuclear-armed states possessed an estimated 12,187 nuclear warheads at the beginning of 2026. All nine states modernized their arsenals over the course of the previous year. The prospect of a world free of nuclear weapons thus appears, for the time being, to be receding even further into the distance.
The exhibition Homeroom: Artists Against the Bomb at New York’s MoMA PS1 demonstrates that artists are unwilling to stand idly by in the face of these developments. The exhibition forms part of an international initiative advocating the complete abolition of nuclear weapons, deliberately placing its faith in the power of artistic expression to engage the public. Posters are displayed alongside photographs, films and sculptures; literature and music also feature in a campaign that explicitly seeks to reach beyond the traditional exhibition space.
Artists Against the Bomb was initiated by the studio of Mexican artist Pedro Reyes in collaboration with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the international coalition awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for its contribution to the adoption of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Among other provisions, the treaty prohibits its states parties from developing, producing, possessing or using nuclear weapons. It entered into force in January 2021.
Images Meant to Circulate
The initiative follows a simple yet effective principle: Its artworks are intended not merely to be viewed in museums, but to reach as many people as possible. More than 250 historical and newly commissioned works now form a collection of visual statements opposing nuclear armament, while also offering insights into the international history of disarmament movements.
A black-and-white aesthetic was deliberately encouraged for the contemporary contributions. This was less an aesthetic prescription than a practical consideration: The images should be inexpensive to reproduce and work equally well on posters and banners, postcards and T-shirts, or across social media. Art thus becomes a reproducible means of protest, one whose widespread circulation is expressly encouraged.
It is no coincidence that this strategy draws on a long tradition of political graphic art. The peace movements of the 20th century already employed memorable visual symbols and imagery whose impact derived precisely from their repetition and circulation in public spaces. Artists Against the Bomb likewise challenges the notion that politically engaged art must derive its effectiveness solely from the uniqueness of an individual work. Reproduction itself becomes an artistic means.
MoMA PS1 presents contributions by artists including Regina José Galindo, Nani Chacón, Carlos Amorales, Frieda Toranzo Jaeger, as well as works by the artist collective Art & Language and Laura Anderson Barbata. The selection focuses on international artists who already have connections to MoMA PS1 and is complemented by newly created works.
Turning Weapons into Musical Instruments
The idea that art can do more than merely depict political realities has occupied Pedro Reyes for many years. For his project Disarm, the Mexican artist transformed parts of confiscated firearms into playable musical instruments in 2013. Rifle barrels became flutes, while pistols and assault rifles were turned into percussion instruments and guitars. The weapons lost their original purpose and became instruments of musical communication. It was a symbolic transformation that did not deny the destructive nature of the objects, but offered them a different future.
The Artists Against the Bomb campaign places this idea within a global political context. Whereas Reyes focused on the physical transformation of weapons in Disarm, the aim now is to change the prevailing social attitudes used to justify their existence.
The exhibition at MoMA PS1 is just one stop in an initiative conceived on an international scale. During New York’s Nuclear Ban Week in 2025, works from the campaign were already brought into public spaces as a travelling exhibition, coinciding with the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at United Nations Headquarters. Since October 16, 2026, the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in Salt Lake City has also been presenting a selection of 70 historical and newly created posters.
Between Political Demands and Artistic Freedom
The exhibition touches on a question as old as political art itself: What happens to artistic freedom when a work of art is explicitly intended to serve a political or social cause?
Artists Against the Bomb makes no secret of its political objectives. Unlike exhibitions that seek primarily to open controversial issues up for discussion, the initiative takes an unequivocal position: Nuclear weapons should be abolished worldwide. The artistic contributions are intended not merely to illustrate this demand, but to bring it to greater public attention.
One of the project’s distinctive qualities lies in bringing together diverse artistic approaches under a common cause. There are considerable differences between the conceptual practice of Art & Language and the politically charged work of an artist such as Regina José Galindo. It is precisely this diversity that demonstrates how political engagement cannot be confined to any single visual language.
The exhibition, however, is conceived less as an open-ended examination of nuclear security policy than as a deliberate stance against global nuclear armament. This is both its strength and its limitation: The question of how nuclear disarmament could actually be achieved under current geopolitical conditions cannot be answered through images alone.
Nevertheless, the initiative’s emphasis on shaping public opinion is understandable in light of the international treaty landscape. According to the United Nations, as of late October 2026, a total of 75 states are parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, while 96 states have signed it. None of the nine nuclear-armed states has joined. Germany, too, is not a party to the treaty. The German government justifies its refusal to join primarily by citing its commitments within NATO and the principle of nuclear deterrence.
A Classroom for the World
The fact that the exhibition takes place in MoMA PS1’s Homeroom is particularly significant. Founded in 1976, the museum occupies a former school building in Long Island City, a history reflected in the name of its exhibition programme, established in 2020. Homeroom, roughly equivalent to a classroom, serves as a platform for community-oriented artistic projects and public dialogue.
The presentation is organised by MoMA PS1 curator Elena Ketelsen González together with Jolene Fernandez. On behalf of Artists Against the Bomb, Pedro Reyes oversees the project alongside Isabel Deheza. The Homeroom programme receives support from the Keith Haring Foundation, among others.
With Artists Against the Bomb, the focus shifts to a form of artistic practice that deliberately seeks wider visibility through reproduction and circulation beyond the museum. The posters and images are intended to travel, enter new contexts and reach people who might never set foot in an exhibition.
Whether art can influence the decisions of states currently modernizing their nuclear arsenals is open to doubt. Yet the history of the peace movement shows that political change does not begin solely at the negotiating table. It requires a public unwilling to accept existing conditions as immutable. This is precisely where Artists Against the Bomb comes in, challenging the apparent inevitability of a threat that has long become part of everyday political life. After all, the existence of the atomic bomb is a historical fact; the claim that it will always be indispensable, however, is a political assertion.
WHEN?
Thursday, September 10, 2026 – Monday, February 8, 2027
Thursday–Monday: 12:00–6:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am–6:00 pm
Closed Tuesday and Wednesday
WHERE?
MoMA PS1
22-25 Jackson Avenue
Long Island City, Queens
New York 11101
USA
COSTS?
Free admission
