“We all want to talk about this.” A Study of Freedom of Artistic Expression in Academic Art Museums and Galleries Have health and safety regulations and/or other concerns been used as a pretext for removing or preventing the exhibition of art on campus on the basis of its content and/or viewpoints? (N=77)
17%
Yes
5%
Other No 78%
Question Thirty-Two Providing legal advice regarding art censorship case law is clearly outside the scope of my own expertise and this research study as a whole. Nevertheless, museum professionals should remember that removing art from view on the basis of its content and/or viewpoints can cause just as many problems – if not more – than standing firm in upholding freedom of artistic expression.
7.5 Censorship is Just as Controversial as Controversial Art – and Administrators Need to Be Reminded of That Another important observation about the downside of acts of censorship is that they so often backfire from a public relations perspective. Many public and private college and university campuses commit themselves to First Amendment principles, or at the very least profess a commitment to freedom of artistic expression. When those expectations are breached, it often results in public criticism and other forms of protest. This is demonstrated by answers to Survey Questions Thirty-Seven and Thirty-Eight. In Survey Question Thirty-Seven, 56% of respondents indicated that there had already been controversy on campus because of the content and/or viewpoint of exhibited art:
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2021-2022 Fellows Research
