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Censored on Campus: Paul Rucker’s Exhibition on Race in America

By |2020-01-05T23:16:13-05:00October 31st, 2017|Blog|

Paul Rucker's traveling exhibition REWIND, an urgently relevant multi-media installation that addresses the history of racial injustice in America, was closed to the public by York College of Pennsylvania, less than one week into its run. Paul sat down with NCAC to discuss the incident.

Government Surveillance Threatens Free Speech: Support for the USA RIGHTS Act and Opposition to DHS Social Media Protocols

By |2020-01-03T15:48:41-05:00October 26th, 2017|Blog|

Government surveillance throws a shadow over all communication, including social media, by making people afraid that the government is looking over their shoulder and inhibiting the free flow of ideas. NCAC has recently signed letters in support of the USA RIGHTS Act, a bipartisan bill in the Senate, and opposing the DHS protocol for collecting and storing social media.

Banned Books Week: YA Author Alan Gratz on Giving Kids the Tools to Resist Censorship

By |2017-09-26T16:28:01-04:00September 26th, 2017|Banned Books Week, Blog|

Alan Gratz Alan Gratz has written over a dozen award-winning books for young readers. His latest YA novel, Ban This Book, tells the story of Amy Anne Ollinger, an avid reader who organizes a campaign of resistance when her favorite book and several other titles are removed from the school library. It’s funny, uplifting, enlightening and above all, [...]

Reclaiming the Native American Swastika Symbol: An Interview with Steven Leyba

By |2020-01-03T15:46:30-05:00September 21st, 2017|Blog|

In August, Artspace, a non-profit organization that manages spaces around the country where artists live and work, ordered the removal of an exhibition from the lobby of its property in Everett, Washington. The exhibition contained works by one of its residents, Steven Leyba, an artist of Native American and Jewish descent. Some of the works in the exhibition featured the swastika [...]

Why NCAC Objects to ‘Restore Campus Free Speech’ Bills

By |2020-01-03T15:46:01-05:00July 7th, 2017|Blog|

Yesterday, NCAC sent a letter to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper urging him to veto a bill dubbed as a measure to “restore” and “preserve” free speech on state college campuses. But why would an organization devoted to free expression like NCAC object to an effort to safeguard free speech at universities?

NCAC Releases Statement in Support of Lincoln Center’s Decision to Host ‘To the End of the Land’ Despite Calls to Cancel the Play

By |2017-07-07T11:51:10-04:00July 7th, 2017|Blog, Press Releases|

Were institutions like Lincoln Center to yield to calls for cancellation coming from the BDS movement or elsewhere, any ensuing conversation would be much impoverished and further polarized.

Even Limited, Trump Administration’s Travel Ban Will Impact Creative Freedom

By |2022-10-03T16:13:53-04:00June 27th, 2017|Blog, Press Releases|

The organizations express grave concern that the Executive Order will have a broad and far-reaching impact on artists’ freedom of movement and, as a result, will seriously inhibit creative freedom, collaboration, and the free flow of ideas.

NCAC Releases Statement Criticizing Walker Art Center’s Decision to Destroy Controversial Sculpture; UPDATE: Sculpture to be Ceremonially Buried

By |2022-10-03T16:26:29-04:00June 9th, 2017|Blog, Press Releases|

NCAC has issued a statement signed by several national and international organizations, opposing the Walker's decision to dismantle and destroy the controversial sculpture.

New Essay by NCAC’s Director of Programs Sheds More Light on the ‘Culture of Outrage’ Debate

By |2020-01-03T15:45:53-05:00June 2nd, 2017|Blog|

Mintcheva's essay examines and argues for the value of free expression in light of recent controversies over art and racially sensitive content, as well as over cultural appropriation, which have left people to question the usefulness of an absolutist defense of free speech.

How a Culture of Outrage Around Politically Engaged Art Endangers Our Public Sphere

By |2022-10-03T16:26:31-04:00June 1st, 2017|Blog|

While critiquing or protesting artworks is a vital part of a healthy democratic society, cultural institutions who bow to demands to remove or destroy works that engage with contentious political or social issues endanger our ability to maintain a public sphere where ideas and societal problems can be freely identified and discussed.

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