CAA News Today

CAA has issued a joint  letter with the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) regarding a recent exhibition on display at Arkansas Tech University (ATU). The subject matter in the exhibit centers on issues of race and representations of troubling components of American history. After students of color voiced objections to the exhibition, the artist withdrew her exhibition.

We believe context is essential for artists to produce and display their work, and for others to consume that work with a critical gaze. The drafted letter states, in part, “by abdicating its responsibility as an educational institution to stand by its exhibition programming and actively create productive dialogue around it, the University has failed its students and the artist.” Previously, CAA collaborated with a number of agencies to create Museum Best Practices for Managing Controversy, a set of guidelines offering best practices for institutions “concerned about or confronted with accusations of inappropriate, objectionable, or offensive content.”

The full letter can be viewed here.