Decision-trees say a lot about who has power . . . if you can find them

“We all want to talk about this.” A Study of Freedom of Artistic Expression in Academic Art Museums and Galleries

No, we never decided this is too risky. The director was very vociferous with administration and with faculty that we are not here to censor and we will not do so, do not ask us to.

I have a lot of freedom. I always have, at all three of the campuses where I’ve worked, I’ve had a lot of freedom. Sometimes I’ve had an external board, sometimes I’ve had an academic advisory council. I have to say, in 20 years, I’ve never been told by anyone above me.

Academic freedom is a very strong subject here, especially in [my very conservative state]. We don’t do content warnings. I think that they hired me because they have confidence in my judgment, and I think museums are safe spaces for provocative ideas. I believe that our top brass feel the same way.

Museum staff working in many different types of institutions, including those quoted above, reported feeling confident that they had the authority to exhibit even very controversial art. ‘Reporting’ to supervisors in these cases did not mean ceding authority. For many other staff, however, these lines of authority are less clear.

5.4 Decision-trees say a lot about who has power . . . if you can find them.

Although very few survey respondents indicated that they experienced “significant limitations” regarding art they wanted to exhibit, on the other hand most reported that limitations did occur, even if for most they were ‘rare.’ Drilling down on the mechanisms through which these limitations occurred reveals a diverse mix of decision trees, many of which are opaque at best.

On the question of roles and responsibilities, only 27% of survey respondents indicate that they even know who has the “authority to decide” in their institution, as indicated by answers to Survey Question Twenty-Seven:

Are roles and responsibilities clear regarding who has the authority to decide what art may be exhibited on campus on the basis of its content and/or viewpoints? (N=79)

27%

35% 38%

No

Somewhat

Yes

Survey Question Twenty-Seven

For the 62% of respondents who answered ‘no’ or ‘somewhat,’ this confusion may be due to changes in decision trees when art has the potential to be controversial. Survey Questions Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four asked more specifically about this distinction:

Who is NORMALLY involved in deciding what art will be exhibited on campus on the basis of its content and/or viewpoints? and When artwork which may be controversial on the basis of its content and/or viewpoints is considered for exhibition on campus, who is added to the decision-making process?