A Muslim TikToker claimed she and her mother were racially profiled at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow, Scotland, after being singled out by a staff member for taking photographs.
Scottish content creator Aqsa—a.k.a. TikToker @itsasqa—shared a video of her interaction with a female employee who allegedly claimed Aqsa was in the way of other museum patrons while taking pictures.
In the clip, Aqsa told the employee that she and her mother, who was wearing a hijab, had been in the corner of the room and out of the way.
“This is not a photo shoot," she explained.
"In fact, there were two other people here with a professional camera, nobody said anything to them."
"I’m here with a phone. It’s a bit awkward that like you’ve picked on us.”
She captioned the clip with more information, starting with:
"My mother (a hijabi woman) and I were racially profiled by 2 white members of staff at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow on the 20/12/23."
"We attended at 11am + were minding our own business taking pics in front of the art."
"NOBODY approached the area we were standing in. I was not in ANYBODYS WAY."
"After watching us for a while a woman (Andrea) approached us to tell us off for being in the way of an elderly woman, which we WERE NOT."
Aqsa began recording when another museum staff member approached her.
"Following this, another woman (Susie) approached us to tell us off again," Aqsa wrote and said of the employee:
"She proceeded to tell me that I had to ask for permission to take pictures (THIS IS NOT TRU I CHECKED WITH THE MANAGER). YOU ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE PICS!"
"I told her this and she continued to try and gaslight me into believing I had done something wrong."
Aqsa continued:
"THERE WERE OTHER PEOPLE THERE WITH A PROFESSIONAL CAM TAKING PICS AND THEY SAID NOTHING TO THEM. THEIR PRO CAM WAS EVEN MAKING SOUNDS!!!"
You can watch the clip of her second interaction with a staff member, here.
When Aqsa asked if patrons needed permission to use their smartphones to take pictures, the employee said it was "complicated" but generally the use of phone cameras was allowed.
The employee said "It was not a problem" and apologized if she made them feel "awkward."
Aqsa confirmed that she was made to feel "uncomfortable" especially after being singled out for using a phone camera when the other guests using professional cameras were not questioned.
The clip ended with the employee repeatedly apologizing for making Aqsa and her mother feel uncomfortable.
Aqsa's video racked up over 907K views since posting it on December 20.
TikTokers shared her frustration.
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Others commended the TikToker for reacting civilly to the situation despite the injustice she experienced.
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Recalling the incident, Aqsa continued writing in her caption:
"The fact that 2 brown women existing in an art space is enough to cause her concern really demonstrates her racial bias, and the negative way in which she views brown people."
She added:
"This was an awful experience; another brown woman has also come forward and shared a similar experience with me."
"GOMA need to educate their staff in order to prevent other people of colour from having to suffer racism and be treated as ‘concerns’ for simply existing."
In a follow-up TikTok, Aqsa asked her followers to reach out to the Gallery and complain on her behalf over its handling of the incident.
Instead of addressing Asqa's personal experience, the Gallery issued a response on Instagram that clarified its policy on taking pictures.
"We want everyone to feel welcome at Glasgow Life venues," they said.
"Part of the visitor assistant role at Glasgow Life is to check with visitors who are filming or photographing for prolonged periods to assess the intended purpose of the video or photos."
"In this instance, filming at GoMA had reached the point where colleagues felt they should have a discussion with the person recording."
"As mentioned in the recording, a similar discussion was held with a Glasgow Life colleague filming at GoMA earlier in the same week."
"We are completely satisfied that this discussion was not, in any way, based on race and that our colleague dealt with the situation appropriately."
Many were disappointed by the Gallery's response.
@glasgowgoma/Instagram
@glasgowgoma/Instagram
@glasgowgoma/Instagram
@glasgowgoma/Instagram
Aqsa also shared a selfie clip of her at the Gallery on the day of the incident.
"Forgot I took this vid from @glasgowgoma and u can see others taking photos in front of the art!!" she wrote, adding:
"Susie and Andrea [The employees] CHOSE to pick on me."
