Lyman Allyn Art Museum in Connecticut Removes Work Deemed “Inappropriate”
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut, removed a work from an exhibition because it was considered by the museum to be “inappropriate for children.”
NCAC Urges New York State School District to Allow Students with Differing Views to Display Art on Controversial Issues
NCAC is urging Eastport-South Manor Central School District in Manorville, New York, to allow students of differing views to display art on school grounds.
NCAC Objects to Removal of Student’s LGBTQ Artwork in Georgia School | Updated
School officials in Athens, Georgia, removed student artwork celebrating gay rights and compared displaying a rainbow flag to displaying a swastika in the classroom.
NCAC Criticizes Brooklyn School’s Censorship of Student Mural | UPDATED
The principal at the elementary school in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood removed a mural created by several fifth graders because of apparent discomfort with some of its content.
Artists, Curators and Advocates Condemn Florida Mayor’s Political Censorship of Coral Gables Public Art Show
In July 2021, echoing the rhetoric of the 1950s McCarthy era and in flagrant disregard of fundamental constitutional principles, Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago urged the city’s commissioners to condition city funding for Illuminate Coral Gables, a public art show, on the exclusion of two of the participating artists because of their purported political views. As artists, arts professionals and free speech organizations we are deeply troubled by demands to censor a public art show so as to penalize political viewpoints.
NCAC Criticizes Censorship of LGBTQ History Exhibit at Missouri State Capitol
The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to Missouri Governor Michael L. Parson after state officials removed an exhibit about LGBTQ history from the Missouri Capitol.
Instagram Censors, Then Uncensors, Almodóvar Movie Poster
NCAC applauds Instagram's reversal of its censorship of the movie poster for Pedro Almodóvar's Madres Paralelas and calls for the same standard to apply to all artistic content on the platform.
NCAC Objects to Removal of Artwork by Public Officials in California
The National Coalition Against Censorship is concerned that the City of Encinitas’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts has removed several works from an exhibition because of apparent discomfort with some of the content of those works. The censored artist, Elena Karavodin, was selected by the city to produce a number of works for an exhibition in one of [...]
Don’t Delete Art Hosts Workshop for Artists on How to Avoid Instagram Censorship
On June 2, 2021, artists Dina Brodsky, Savannah Spirit, and Spencer Tunick hosted a conversation to share advice on how to tag, contextualize, or modify artwork on Instagram so as to improve its chances of not being removed. The webinar is part of Don't Delete Art, a gallery, resource center and campaign advocating for artistic freedom on social media. [...]
Don’t Delete Art Releases Guidelines for Artists to Avoid Social Media Censorship
Artists and advocates have created the first comprehensive resource for artists to avoid and combat censorship on social media.
NCAC Opposes Removal of Mural Depicting Slavery
NCAC is asking the University of Kentucky (UK) to cancel recently announced plans to remove a 1930’s-era mural depicting aspects of Kentucky history, including slavery. Some students have demanded its removal because they consider it demeaning to people of color on campus. In 2018, the university commissioned an installation by Karyn Olivier, a noted Black artist, that was painted above [...]
Don’t Delete Art: A Virtual Gallery of Art Censored by Social Media
On May 19, 2020, an international coalition of arts and free expression organizations, including the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), IBEX Collection, Article19, PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), International Arts Rights Advisors, and Freemuse, launched Don’t Delete Art, a virtual gallery showcasing work which is banned or restricted on social media. The gallery, whose curators include frequently-censored artists [...]
San Antonio Censors Queer Latina Performance Artist Xandra Ibarra | UPDATED
The City of San Antonio censored queer Latina performance artist Xandra Ibarra's work addressing race and gender stereotypes, likely infringing on the First Amendment.
UPDATE: VICTORY! Pepperdine University Censors Student’s Art
Pepperdine University is refusing to display an art student's works alongside her peers because the works depict nudity.
Mayor Vetoes Bill Clarifying Washington DC Arts Commission’s Independence
UPDATE: 10/24/19: On October 22, the DC Council voted unanimously to override Mayor Muriel Bowser's veto of an emergency bill that would have clarified the DCCAH’s independence. “The underlying legislation cemented DCCAH's separation from the executive's office after a tumultuous summer during which the mayor tried and failed to grab control of the District's public arts.” (see original post below) [...]
Cancel Culture: Can Free Speech in Cultural Institutions Survive the Onslaught of Moral Outrage?
Svetlana Mintcheva, NCAC's Director of Programs, presented a talk at the Harvard Law School Library on the effects contemporary moral outrage has on the arts and culture.
NCAC Calls for Open Forum to Discuss San Francisco Murals
NCAC proposes holding an open forum where GWHS students can talk about how they see and interpret the Arnautoff murals. We invite the San Francisco Board of Education to collaborate with us in presenting the forum.
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco Removes Art Referencing Gaza
The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco removed two works from its exhibition, La Frontera: Artists Respond to the U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis.
Nude #WeTheNipple Art Action at Facebook Headquarters Calls Out Censorship
NCAC and artist Spencer Tunick created a nude art action in front of Facebook and Instagram's New York City headquarters as part of their #WeTheNipple campaign against art censorship on social media.
Panel Addresses the Challenges of #MeToo and the Morally Compromised Artist
A discussion of what to do with the art of morally compromised artists, how morally compromised is "too" morally compromised, whether it matter if the artist is alive and, ultimately, who decides upon these issues of what is acceptable
Chinese Artist Censored in North Carolina Exhibition | UPDATE: VICTORY!
A US-based Chinese artist was forced to remove three paintings from a show in North Carolina to avoid "offending" patrons.
NCAC Protests Political Censorship at Ground Zero
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey relocated an art installation depicting the Saudi Arabian flag after public complaints.
NCAC Urges Queens Library to Restore Canceled Photography Exhibition
Image courtesy of Drew Kerr The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) urges Queens Library to restore an exhibition of photographs it canceled and allow it to run for three weeks as originally planned. Drew Kerr’s exhibition, Faces of The 7 Train, consists of 32 black-and-white photographs that the artist shot of passengers on the 7 train over the course of [...]
Tumblr Adult Content Ban Will Chill Free Expression Online
On December 17th, Tumblr permanently banned adult content from its platform. Under the new community guidelines, any image that depicts sex acts, real-life human genitalia, or (with a few exceptions) female nipples will be hidden from public view. Despite the company’s claims, the new guidelines will not create a “better, more positive” Tumblr.
Smart Tactics: Curating Difficult Content
SMART TACTICS: Curating Difficult Content examines the internal and external pressures curators must navigate when considering potentially controversial material. Combining decades of advocacy experience with extensive interviews and curatorial surveys, this volume includes both a report on what happens behind the scenes in art institutions and a handbook for confronting the challenges of curating difficult content.
MK Asante, Leora Kahn & NYFA Chairs Named Film Contest Judges
The National Coalition Against Censorship continues its support of student-led protests by extending the deadline for its protest-themed film contest to May 15th. This year’s contest invites aspiring teen filmmakers to create short films on the value of protest as an instrument of social change. In the weeks leading up to the March for Our Lives and National School Walkouts [...]
Artspace Censors Nudes in Exhibition About Body Positivity
Artspace, the self-described "non-profit real estate developer for the arts," creates affordable live-work spaces in a world where such spaces are rapidly disappearing. However, on more than one occasion, Artspace has censored works exhibited by residents on their premises. The most recent incident occurred in East Minneapolis.
NCAC Supports Student Artists in Brooklyn
Sunset Park High School in Brooklyn, NY removed a work of student art last week after complaints that its message was offensive. NCAC opposes allowing a "hecker's veto" to chill this student's right to free expression.
Norfolk Business Shuts Down Exhibition and Halts All Future Art Displays
After an artist was censored in Norfolk, VA, the public agency who shut down her show cancels all future art exhibitions.
Guantanamo Art: Gone for Good?
If a recent policy change is not reversed, art by Guantanamo detainees may be permanently removed from public view when John Jay College's exhibition closes next week.
NCAC Condemns Government Policy Depriving Americans of Access to Art by Guantanamo Detainees
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) vehemently objects to the violation of the public’s right to access art by Guantanamo detainees and thus fully participate in the political conversation around Guantanamo. The new directive also violates the human rights of the detainees under international norms and further destruction of the work would impermissibly suppress documents of historical importance.
John Sims: “Confederate Flag: A Public Hanging” at Ohio University and the Kennedy Museum of Art
Johns Sims was finally able to present his work, "Confederate Flag: A Public Hanging", after years of forced adaptation and abridgment.
NCAC Releases Statement Criticizing Walker Art Center’s Decision to Destroy Controversial Sculpture; UPDATE: Sculpture to be Ceremonially Buried
NCAC has issued a statement signed by several national and international organizations, opposing the Walker's decision to dismantle and destroy the controversial sculpture.
Minnesota Performing Arts Center Censors Play Over Word ‘Mulatto’ in Title; UPDATE: NCAC and DLDF Send Letter to Mayor Kautz
The play offers a perspective on the experience of growing up biracial -- or "mulatto," a dated term used to describe a person with one black and one white parent.
Minnesota High School Cancels Play After Photos Leak of Students Dressed in KKK Costumes
The decision to cancel the play was understandable, given the controversy around the photo, but was it the best decision that could have been made?
NCAC Protests the Removal of American Diversity Posters over Alleged “anti-Trump” bias
NCAC is urging a Maryland school district to allow its teachers to display a series of posters promoting diversity and inclusion in America after administrators ordered their removal over concerns of political bias.
Maryland School District Censors American Diversity Posters for ‘anti-Trump’ Bias
The posters were deemed to break the school's policy that forbids classroom materials that attempt to sway the political opinions of students.
Black History Month Art Exhibition Removed From School Admin. Offices; UPDATE: NCAC & ACLU Urge District to Immediately Restore Exhibit
An exhibition of artworks celebrating Black History Month was removed from display in a San Jose School district building after complaints calling the works offensive.
New Report Catalogs Attacks on Artistic Freedom Around The World in 2016
The number of cases registered in 2016 more than doubled the amount registered in 2015, an increase of 119%, which translates to an extra 469 attacks.
NCAC Responds to American University Museum’s Removal of Controversial Sculpture; UPDATE: NCAC Advises AU Museum on Strategies to Avoid Future Controversy
American University Museum in Washington D.C. flubbed its approach to a controversial sculpture after it claimed it did not want the message of the sculpture to be deemed the institution's own.