Image caption: Taravat Talepasand, Demons, Dictators, Blasphemy, and Man, 2016.

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the College Art Association (CAA) have contacted Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to express concerns about how its campus gallery handled the controversy surrounding an exhibition entitled TARAVAT. 

The college’s efforts to address local concerns have profoundly impacted the artistic freedom of exhibition artist Taravat Talepasand and have hindered students’ ability to interpret her artwork independently. 

NCAC and CAA have provided Macalester College with resources to lend support in addressing protesters and have urged school officials to seek opportunities to explore the controversial elements of the exhibition publicly and in-depth. 

The joint letter is below, or click here for a full-screen view.