On 25 August, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics (VLC) released a statement expressing concern that intellectual freedom in cultural institutions in the United States is under serious threat. It has received more than 425 signatures so far, representing over 150 cultural institutions and 275 individuals working across the sector.
Developed over three months and titled Cultural Freedom Demands Collective Courage: a Nation-Wide Statement of Values and Principles for the Field of Arts and Culture, the statement calls for solidarity and a commitment to shared values between US art and culture institutions, and asserts the arts sector’s commitment to retain programmatic independence and resist pressures of institutional self-censorship.
‘Arts and cultural institutions across the United States – whether or not they are directly impacted by shifts in policy or the withdrawal of government funding – face increasing pressure on their programming decisions’, said Elizabeth Larison, director of the Arts & Culture Advocacy Program at NCAC. ‘In this moment of fear and uncertainty, it is important for cultural institutions and cultural workers to act with courage, recommit to their missions, and not forget their reasons for doing the work they do. Preemptively adjusting programs to appease would-be government censors will erode the integrity of our cultural institutions, and the independence of the field as a whole.’
The statement follows the termination of over $27 million in NEA Grants since May. Additionally, the Trump administration has been placing increased pressure on the Smithsonian Institution. Earlier this month, the administration called for a review of its exhibitions and materials and recently released a list of works and programs deemed inappropriate, after a post by Trump on Truth Social complained that the Smithsonian focused too much on ‘how horrible our country is, how bad slavery was’.
On 24 August, Amy Sherald published an op-ed on MSNBC reflecting on her decision to cancel her upcoming exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. due to censorship concerns. ‘Museums are not stages for loyalty’, she wrote. ‘They are civic laboratories. They are places where we wrestle with contradictions, encounter the unfamiliar and widen our circle of empathy. But only if they remain free.’
The full NCAC and VLC full statement can be found here.
