Censorpedia: An Interactive Database of Censorship Incidents

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Today's Featured Case EDIT PAGE Artist: Aaron Bell / Artwork: Stand Tall, Stand Loud Year: 2016 Date of Action: June 2016 Region: North America Location: New York City Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion, Public Art "Public Art" is not in the list (Copyright, Explicit Sexuality, Government Secrecy, Nudity, Political/Economic/Social Opinion, Racial/Ethnic, Religion, Science, Sexual/Gender Orientation, Violence, ...) of allowed values for the "Was challenged because of subject" property. Medium: Sculpture, Public Art Confronting Bodies: New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Description of Artwork: Aaron Bell's Stand Tall, Stand Loud, is a sixteen-foot tall Cor-ten steel sculpture located in Riverside Park, New York City. The sculpture is composed of a stylized figure and a noose with a slash through it in place of a head. Bell's proposed design was selected by the Art Students League for Model to Monument (M2M), a public art program administered in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Bell, who is African American, conceived the sculpture as a statement against hate and bigotry. The sculpture's base is inscribed with a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter." The Incident: A public art coordinator for city parks, Jennifer Lantzas, contacted Parks staff with concerns that "the image of the noose could be problematic for the borough" (Ginia Bellafante, NYTimes May 27, 2016). Parks spokesman Sam Biederman said that Bell's project was rejected because the site, near West 68th Street in Riverside Park, "is adjacent to an area regularly programmed with passive recreational activities such as yoga, Pilates and senior movement." Bell was told to remove the noose element or forfeit the opportunity to install the sculpture; the M2M committee did not honor his repeated requests to explain or defend his concept. The sculpture was initially installed on schedule but with an alternative head element. Results of Incident: The NYC Parks Department reversed its decision to censor the sculpture after protests by NCAC and the involvement of attorney Norman Siegel on behalf of the artist. The noose element was fabricated in Cor-ten steel. It was installed on July 20, 2016. Source: • http://untappedcities.com/2016/06/20/art-students-league-m2m-program-arrives-in-riverside-park-nyc/ A ‘Problematic’ Sculpture Is Silenced by New York Parks Officials by Ginia Bellafante MAY 27 2016 Artist Will Finish 'Problematic' Noose Sculpture In Riverside Park by Emma Whitford JUN 17 2016 Art Students League M2M Program Arrives in Riverside Park NYC, 06/20/2016, by AFineLyne NCAC Letter to Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, Commissioner, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

What is Censorpedia? Censorpedia is a crowdsourced online database of censorship cases within the arts and in culture. It is aimed at those researching censorship, at activists working for freedom of expression and at artists and other cultural producers whose expression has been subject to censorship or attempted censorship. Censorpedia aids the fight for free expression by providing a repository of incidents involving information about what is vulnerable to censorship, and about the strategies and tactics that have defeated previous’ censorship attempts. Essentially, its articles document censorship outbreaks by providing the who, what, when, where and why. Researchers can search for a specific case, year or keyword using the search box, as well as browse by medium, by subject, or explore a random case. Activists can search for ongoing cases or contribute a case that is ongoing or recently resolved. Artists and cultural producers are similarly invited to add cases they are directly involved with or are familiar with first hand. Censorpedia builds on the landmark 1994 art project The File Room, initiated by Muntadas. Feel free to: add a case Browse censorship cases by: medium grounds for censorship all cases ongoing cases random case