NCAC’s Primer On The Whitney Biennial Controversy: A Timely and Necessary Exchange
In the aftermath of the Whitney Biennial controversy, NCAC has aggregated the best commentary and opinions on the fraught but necessary incident.
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?
Censorpedia Celebrates Women’s History Month
Throughout March, to celebrate Women's History Month, NCAC will be spotlighting censorship cases involving women and women's issues on its crowdsourced wiki, Censorpedia.
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.
NCAC Condemns Decision to Remove Student Painting from U.S. Capitol Building; UPDATE: Rep. Clay Files Lawsuit Against Architect of the Capitol
Rep. Clay, in a statement issued by his office in St. Louis, said the painting's removal has “sent a chilling message to young Americans that their voices are not respected, their views are not valued, and their freedom of expression is no longer protected in the U.S. Capitol.”
Museum Hosting Political Art Exhibit Quarantines Works Overtly Critical of Trump
The Allentown Art Museum in Pennsylvania chose to move works with a clear anti-Trump message to a separate gallery nearby.
NCAC & FIRE Defend Winthrop University Student Threatened With Expulsion for Anti-Lynching Art; UPDATE: Winthrop Drops Expulsion Threats
The disciplinary charges constitute a neglect of Winthrop's role as a ‘marketplace of ideas’ and its responsibilities under the First Amendment.
Introducing CENSORPEDIA, NCAC’s Crowdsourced Wiki for Censorship Incidents
Censorpedia currently contains over 1200 individual incidents collected over the years and contributed by students, NCAC staff and volunteers, artists and, potentially, YOU!
With NCAC Help, Artist Successfully Reverses Corporation’s Objections to Black Lives Matter Artwork
While private corporations have the legal right to set conditions on their rentals, artists and small alternative art venues such as 50/50 need to push back against their total control of public space.
Dealing with Difficult Art in Post-Election America at Salem State U.
An artwork depicting the Ku Klux Klan, intended to make a statement about post-election U.S.A, was labeled "hate speech" by students at Salem State U.
The Ideas That Unite Us
A post-election letter from NCAC’s Executive Director.
Documentary on Mike Diana, First American Convicted of Obscenity, Launches Kickstarter
The kickstarter-funded doc. reminds us all free speech protections are shallow when the subjective view of the few is brought to bear on the many.
NCAC’s Top 16 Free Speech Defenders (& Offenders) in 2016
Facebook, nude art and conservative lawmakers are just a few elements of NCAC's top offenders/defenders of free speech list. But who made the no 1 spots?
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis Responds to Public Outcry Over Racially Charged Art
The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis keeps the conversation going as it responds to anger over racially-charged works in the Kelley Walker exhibition.
NCAC, FIRE & DLDF Letter to Cal State University Long Beach: Re-Instate Play About Race
NCAC has sent a joint letter to California State University Long Beach (CSULB) in response to the university's recent cancellation of the comedy N*GGER WETB*CK CH*NK (N*W*C) at the University's Performing Arts Center.
Remembering Edward Albee, Free Speech Defender
Edward Albee died over the weekend aged 88. A tireless free speech defender, here are a few of the times Albee's work crossed over with NCAC's
Cal State Long Beach Censors Acclaimed Show, Director Resigns in Protest
A California university nixed a performance of a comedy intended to diminish the potency of racial slurs on the grounds “the performance wasn't achieving the goal of constructing a dialogue about racial relations.”
Artist Sues California After Local Art Fair Bans Painting With Confederate Flag
A California law that bans the state from selling or buying the Confederate flag may have unintended consequences on freedom of expression.
Artists Know Your Rights, An Interview About NCAC’s Latest Resource
Artist's Rights is a comprehensive new website designed to help artist's understand their legal rights when faced with censorship. NCAC's Arts Advocacy Program speaks to Creative Capital about the project.
Detroit Artists Face Felony Charges for Protest Graffiti; UPDATE: Artists Reach Out of Court Settlement
Antonio Cosme and William Lucka face a $75,000 fine and four years in prison for protesting the water cut offs in Detroit by graffitiing a Highland Park water tower.
Uni. of Wisconsin-Stout Moves to Censor Paintings of First Nations People; UPDATE: Chancellor Modifies Course, Paintings to be Relocated
The University's Diversity Leadership Team expressed concern the painting's colonial subject matter would reinforce racial stereotypes.
Jersey City, Censorship and ‘Hypersensitivity’: An Interview With Monopoly Mural Artist Mr. AbiLLity
Gary Wynans, a.k.a. Mr. AbiLLity, sits down with NCAC to discuss the behind the scenes of his controversial Monopoly mural that was censored by Jersey City.
Jersey City Paints Over Mural Portion After Allegations of Racism; UPDATE: Mural Removed, Affirming Need For Clear And Consistent Public Art Policy
Artist Gary Wynans, a Puerto-Rican-Italian, painted himself in the mural. Residents complained the image reinforced racial stereotypes.
Virginia MOCA Removes Gas Mask From Artist’s ‘Makeover’ Statue; UPDATE: NCAC Releases Statement On Behalf Of Artist
The museum alleges Polish artist Olek broke her contract when she implemented the mask, intended to provoke thought about environmental damage.
“Stand Tall, Stand Loud” Censored by NYC Department of Parks; UPDATE: NYC Parks Reverses Decision
Aaron Bell's sculpture was censored by NYC's Parks & Recreation department for its "problematic" depiction of a man in a noose.
Georgia Lawmakers Attack Museum Exhibition Exploring AIDS Epidemic
David Wojnarowicz (born 1954, died 1992) Untitled (Buffalo), 1988-89. Vintage gelatin silver print, signed on verso, 28⅝x35¾; inches. Collection of Michael Sodomick, Courtesy of the Estate of David Wojnarowicz and P.P.O.W Gallery, New York In statements reminiscent of the culture wars of the 1990s, three Republican lawmakers in Cobb County, Georgia have attacked a museum exhibition that [...]
American Nocturne: When Public Art Engenders Controversy; UPDATE: Mural Removed, Elgin Arts Commission Will Decide Fate
NCAC has sent a letter to Elgin Mayor David Kaptain supporting the mural's return in advance of the City Council's vote on its fate on July 13th.
Penny Dreadful in Paint: Accusations of Blasphemy Hit Virginia MOCA/Hi-Fructose Exhibition
Mark Ryden: Fountain, 2003. Oil on Panel, 12x6.25 inches. ©Mark Ryden. In a replay of former New York Mayor Guiliani's attempt to grab attention by attacking "blasphemous" art, Ben Loyola, a member of the Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission, is directing his ire against the work of LA-based painter Mark Ryden, featured in Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of [...]
Staten Island High School Art Students Told to Clothe their Anti-Rape Artwork
When students at Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island produced a photographic artwork critiquing rape culture and the sexualization of young women's bodies, the administration responded by removing the artwork, implicitly sexualizing the body of a young woman. Last week, a photo-collage was removed from a student exhibition in the lobby of the high school due to its [...]
Threats to Blows: We Stand with Illma Gore
@illmagore : "Make America Great Again" On Saturday, in the latest fallout over artist Illma Gore's controversial nude portrait of Donald Trump, Gore was physically assaulted by a Trump supporter not far from her home in LA. After punching the diminutive artist in the face, her attacker shouted "Trump 2016" and jumped into a waiting vehicle. Gore posted the story [...]
West Hollywood Blocks Artist’s Work / Resolution Found
The City of West Hollywood planned exhibitions in celebration of Women's History Month - and then yanked art by a female artist representing women.
Free the Nipple: Nude Paintings Raise Temperatures in Lafayette
And Indiana artist gets a message from her landlord: "You have to take down the nude pictures you have in your gallery. Part of the agreement to rent you the space was to not display nude pictures.”
Does “Hate Art” Have a Place?
Does art that offends belong in a government building? That's the debate unfolding in Denver, after a student's painting that likens police to the Ku Klux Klan was displayed in the city's Webb Building.
He Said/She Said: That’swhatshesaid
A claim of copyright infringement attempts to shut down a show about the silencing of women.
Florida Man Wants City to Declare Vagina Monologues ‘Inappropriate’
A local businessman wants a Florida city council to bar performances in a publicly-owned theater that he deems inappropriate.
Artists, Anti-Censorship Group Protest Cancellation of Israel-Palestine Play
After complaints, a Florida Jewish community center cancels performances of a play about the Israel-Palestine conflict.