Elana Mann, Portrait of Derrick Maddox; artist and musician, part of the Call to Arms Comrades series, 2017-2025
At the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University, an exhibition titled Hold My Hand In Yours was shuttered nearly six months early after several of its artists withdrew their works in protest of the University’s censorship of two installations that were part of the show. The University claims that the two censored artworks contained “overtly political content” which they inferred would affect the University’s nonprofit status, but these concerns are misguided.Virtually any artwork responding to current events can be interpreted as expressing a political position and crucially, the exhibition of an object in an University museum does not mean that the University endorses the ideas it expresses. We urge Pepperdine University to take steps towards the reinstatement of the exhibition and call for the University to adopt a statement affirming the value of free expression and develop guidelines for the exhibition of art on campus. Please see our open letter, below.
Read NCAC’s full letter here:Click here for a full-screen view: