“Shame is the Evil That Makes Everybody Sick”
Legendary artists Betty Tompkins and Marilyn Minter got together to talk about censorship, women in the arts and much more.
Local Govt Official Removes “Obscene” Artwork — But It’s Back Up
A California government official removed an artwork from a public building because he determined that it was "obscene." The First Amendment exists to prevent this kind of thing, and the piece is back up.
Facebook’s Nudity Rules Still Make No Sense
Artists continue to struggle with Facebook's inconsistent policies on human nudity.
Summertime for… Censorship?
Students at summer art school programs run into some unique censorship problems.
“Preacher Pimp” Protested in Georgia–But Museum Holds Firm
An artwork draws protest from local clergy in Georgia. But the museum where it is displayed is standing firm.
Kimonos and Controversy: What the Boston MFA Got Wrong
The Boston Museum of Fine Arts should have answered the Kimono Wednesdays controversy by seizing on the protests as a chance to ask deeper questions and engage the community.
Boston Museum Responds on Kimono Protests
The Boston Museum of Fine Arts responds to NCAC's letter regarding protests over "Kimono Wednesdays."
Kimono Wednesdays: Was Interactive Art Really ‘Yellowface’ Orientalism?
An exhibit that included a kimono that could be worn by museum visitors drew strong protests, and caused the Boston Museum of Fine Arts to alter its program.
Iowa Town: No Nudes on Main Street
City officials want an art gallery to cover a nude painting-- but they can't find a legal justification.
Managing Controversy: Vanessa Place, Race and Gone With the Wind
In response to a controversy over a conceptual poet's 'Gone With the Wind' project, several cultural institutions have canceled her appearances-- demonstrating the wrong way to deal with such disputes.
Policing Art
Student artists are tackling police brutality-- and police groups aren't happy about it. Unfortunately, some schools are reacting by removing the work.
Art Censorship in Response to Speculative Threats
Citing a possible violent reaction as a pretext for censoring art is not only wrong, it most certainly leads those who object to free expression to make more threats.
Policing Expression: NJ School Removes Student Project
A student project on police and community relations angers local cops-- and school administrators respond by removing it.
#Donttakeitdown: Students Speak Out Over Removal of Police Brutality Artwork
After receiving complaints, a Maryland high school removes police brutality artwork. But the students at Oxon Hill aren't submitting to censorship-- they are fighting back.
NCAC Urges the Association of Writers and Writing Programs to Stand by Freedom of Expression
Protesters demand that a controversial poet be removed from a committee at an academic conference. And the writers' group organizing the conference promptly complies.
Another Salvo in San Bernardino’s War on Nudes
A California library briefly removes a nude painting it deemed "inappropriate."
Police Groups React to ‘Don’t Shoot’ Library Art
Provocative art about police brutality in a Madison, Wisconsin library is causing controversy.
International Coalition Appeals to Cuba: Drop Charges Against Performance Artist
A group of international artistic freedom groups send a letter to the Cuban government requesting that authorities drop all charges against free speech performance artist Tania Bruguera.
UN Special Rapporteur: Freedom of expression & Copyright
At the 28th Session of the Human Rights Council in March 2015, Ms. Farida Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, presented her report on copyright laws and policies and their effect on artistic freedom. The report emphasizes the need to balance intellectual property rights with the need to empower creativity. It supports copyright exceptions and limitations that enable caricature, parody, pastiche and appropriation art, which all borrow recognizably from prior works in order [...]
Removal of Student Art Undermines Artistic Freedom
The decision to quickly remove a student art project involving a teepee from a California college campus sent the wrong message about artistic freedom and claims of offense.
Victory: Library Will Continue to Display “Edgy” Exhibit
An exhibit of dolls at the Long Beach library was deemed too controversial because it included a depiction of police brutality. The library decided to go on with the show; NCAC offers some guidelines for curators who are faced with similar controversies.
Teepee Art Project Removal a Missed Opportunity for Conversation
A California college removed a teepee art project after complaints-- missing an opportunity to have a real discussion about some vital issues.
NCAC Goes to France: Artists Adapt Best Practices for Managing Controversy
Artists in France are adapting NCAC's work.
“Censorship in the Guise of Child Protection:” Jonas Tarm and the NY Youth Symphony
A New York Times reviewer offers a scathing response to the New York Youth Symphony's decision to censor a young composer's Carnegie Hall debut.
Music Freedom Day in New York
A quick look at how Music Freedom Day was celebrated in New York City.
After Questionable Copyright Claim, Public Library Removes Mother Teresa Painting
Is this really about copyright? Trumbull removes a painting of Mother Teresa from the public library amidst questionable claims of copyright infringement.
Attacks on Artistic Freedom On the Rise
A new report shows that attacks on artists were on the rise in 2014-- even here in the United States.
Labor Art Censored? Canceled Mural Controversy at the Museum of the City of New York
Is the Museum of the City of New York censoring labor art--or merely exercising proper curatorial judgment?
Censored Art: Profanity and Police Brutality
The Charlie Hebdo massacres prompted worldwide calls to embrace and celebrate artistic freedom. But actions speak louder than words. As demonstrations in support of free speech were held in Paris and we all reconfirmed our commitment to an open exchange of ideas, two cultural spaces in the United States-– one a library, the other a university-– censored artwork.
NCAC Joins Worldwide Secret Cinema Screenings to Protest Censorship of The Interview
On Sunday, Dec 21st, NCAC joined Secret Cinema and Spectrum to screen Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator in protest against the cancellation of The Interview. As NCAC noted in a statement regarding the cancellation, threats of violence have become increasingly successful in suppressing cultural expression. Before Sony Pictures Entertainment withdrew its film, The Interview, from all outlets of circulation and distribution, we saw London’s [...]
NCAC Joins FIRE in Letter to University of Iowa Over Disturbing Censorship
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) are urging University of Iowa president Sally Mason to issue a statement recognizing the First Amendment rights of Professor Serhat Tanyolacar and make clear that his artwork is fully protected under the First Amendment. The letter was issued in response to the forced removal from [...]
The Damned Dozens: Art Censorship in 2014
Don’t hold your breath for nipple reveals or cock shows – while artistic representations of nudes remain a regular target of censorship, the most compelling and controversial artwork in 2014 came from artists challenging social norms and exposing cultural fissures. There was the occasional use of female anatomy or children as subjects, but what each painting, photo, or mural on [...]
Bravos Drown Out Hecklers at “Death of Klinghoffer” Opening
The audience coming to see John Adams' Death of Klinghoffer on Monday, October 20th, had to pass through a cordon of angry protesters crying "shame" and holding placards condemning the Metropolitan Opera of rather far fetched things like "taking terrorist $$$" or "glorifying terrorism." They must not have succeeded in shaming anyone as the house was full. The few hecklers in the [...]
International Free Speech Organizations Condemn Barbican Exhibit B Cancellation
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has joined the UK based Index of Censorship and other members of ARTSFEX, an international civil society network actively concerned with the right of artists to freedom of expression, in a statement condemning an alarming worldwide trend in which violent protest silences artistic expression that some groups claim is offensive. The below statement was issued [...]
U.S. Fails to Protect the Right to Access Culture, Says Report
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE In a submission to a UN human rights review, anti-censorship groups document violations of freedom of information and expression in public schools, jails, and prisons New York and Copenhagen For more information contact Svetlana Mintcheva at 212-807-6222 In a new report to the United Nations assessing the United States’ compliance with its human rights obligations, two leading [...]
Sculpture of Male Nude Declared Porn by Some Texans
Jorge Marin's sculpture group Wings of the City has been on display in Houston's Discovery Green Park since early September. Almost predictably some viewers are objecting to the nudity of the sculptures. As usual those who object do it supposedly on behalf of the innocence of children - though Wings of the City has been exhibited internationally with no apparent damage to [...]
Conflict Avoidance
Cancelled commencement speakers, a rush of attempts to put trigger warnings on class content, student petitions to remove potentially disturbing artwork from campus… What is going on? Academia is no stranger to free speech battles. In the 1950s professors could be ousted for “treasonous or seditious acts or utterances” or for being members of an organization advocating the violent overthrow [...]
Top 40 Threats to Free Speech Right Now!
To celebrate NCAC's 40th Anniversary, we take a look at 40 threats to free speech.
Damien Hirst’s “The Virgin Mother” Under Fire In Long Island. Protect Interesting Public Art!
Damien Hirst's The Virgin Mother is a large piece about even larger subjects: life, death, birth, and humanity. But is it too large for Old Westbury, L.I.? The Virgin Mother was previously displayed (there are several casts) at Lever House in Manhattan, outside London's Royal Academy, and on Fontvieille Harbour, Monaco. But now that it landed in posh Old Westbury, [...]
Read an excerpt from Svetlana Mintcheva’s essay in the new “Handbook on Intellectual Freedom”
We're excited about the just-released Library Juice Press Handbook of Intellectual Freedom because, in addition to being a landmark resource on the state of free inquiry and expression, it features a new essay by NCAC's Svetlana Mintcheva on censorship, past and present, in the arts. Library Juice talks about the need for this handbook on their blog: The existing reference literature on intellectual [...]