Censorpedia (www.wiki.ncac.org) is a participatory wiki of censorship incidents from the Iron Age to the 21st Century. The archive builds on the The File Room, an internationally renowned 1994 art project by Muntadas, and contains over 1000 censorship incidents from around the world, some dating back to the 5th c. BC, others documenting ongoing censorship battles. We hope Censorpedia will aid the fight for free expression by providing a living repository of censorship incidents, information about what materials are vulnerable to censorship, and a guide to strategies and tactics that have defeated past censorship attempts.
We also hope that contributors from around the world will chronicle “ongoing” cases and thus not only inform a worldwide audience about local incidents, but those who might be in a position to intervene.
Censorship always strives to remain invisible – whether it dissimulates as care for moral values or protection of the young, or concern for the “sensitivity” of religious, racial and ethnic groups. Censorpedia seeks to expose censorship for what it is: the suppression of speech this person or that politician simply dislikes or disagrees with.
You are part of a small group we’re inviting to explore and contribute to Censorpedia before its launch to the general public. Please use the search and add-a-case functions (you will need to register for the latter) to navigate, explore and add to the site. We also welcome your feedback about how the wiki works and ways in which we can improve it.
As you will see, the project is currently heavy with cases involving the arts – visual art, performance, writing and music. There is no reason, however, to limit it that way. By launching this project and involving a community of contributors, we are opening Censorpedia to include all kinds of incidents, as long as they relate to the suppression of speech, ideas or images.
Please send your feedback to [email protected]