SFT France Protests at Pompidou Centre Against Chinese Artist

SFT France activists protesting at the Pompidou Centre in Paris on 23 October 2025 (Photo: SFT France)

Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) France staged a protest at the Pompidou Centre in Paris on 23 October 2025. The activists condemned the French art institution for exhibiting work by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang, whose recent fireworks display in Tibet drew widespread criticism on environmental and ethical grounds.

Fireworks Display on Sacred Mountains

On 19 September 2025, Cai Guo-Qiang, in collaboration with Canadian outdoor brand Arc’teryx, organised a large-scale pyrotechnic show titled “Rising Dragon” on sacred mountains in Shigatse, Tibet. The event took place at altitudes between 4,600 and 5,500 metres and involved 1,050 firework units set off over 52 seconds.

The fireworks show left mountains of debris behind, including remnants of explosive shells and plastic fragments. Local Tibetans were tasked with cleaning up the site. Video footage showed fragments of copper, plastic packaging and unburned gunpowder scattered across the Himalayan slopes, despite claims of using biodegradable materials.

Official Investigation and Apologies

Local authorities in Shigatse immediately assembled an investigation team to visit the site. Within hours, promotional videos from both Cai’s studio and Arc’teryx were removed from social media. Arc’teryx issued an apology on Weibo and Instagram, stating that the event “directly contradicts our commitment to outdoor spaces.”

Authorities determined that the artist and his sponsor are liable for damaging 300,000 square metres of ecologically sensitive Himalayan grassland. Both Cai’s studio and Arc’teryx are legally required to pay compensation.

Protest at the Pompidou Centre

The Pompidou Centre is currently presenting, in collaboration with White Cube gallery, an exhibition of Cai’s work presenting him as a “pioneering figure in contemporary art.” During Paris Art Week, the artist transformed the Pompidou’s facade into a fleeting monumental painting using his AI-based model combining art, technology and pyrotechnics.

SFT France demanded that both institutions “publicly acknowledge the damage caused by Cai Guo-Qiang’s project in Tibet and take a stand against the exploitation of occupied territories for commercial and artistic gain.” The activists distributed pamphlets and engaged with exhibition visitors.

The protesters declared: “Art without ethics is power in disguise. We condemn their complicity in this symbolic and environmental violence.” They emphasised that “Tibet is not a backdrop and spirituality is not a marketing product.”

Broader Objections

The protest action focused on three core points: the destruction of the environment in ecologically fragile high mountains, cultural insensitivity towards sacred Tibetan sites, and the absence of local consent or acknowledgement.

Earlier in September, a coalition of British groups, including Tibetan Community in Britain and Free Tibet, also staged a protest at the White Cube gallery in London against the same artist for what they called “cultural violence.”

The Tibetan Plateau and its mountains are sacred in Tibetan Buddhism, making the fireworks show culturally inappropriate for local communities. Environmental scientists warned that the event may have caused multiple environmental impacts, with damage to vegetation, wildlife and the ecological system potentially already done.