According to the findings of a new survey of art museum directors, many professionals consider censorship of various kinds to be a growing problem, but most of them have no written policies on how to deal with these potential disasters.
The report, “The Censorship Horizon,” comes from PEN America, the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), and Artists at Risk Connection. AAMD represents more than 220 leading art museums in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico (membership is limited to those with an operating annual budget of $2 million or higher). This study focused on the U.S., and of those who responded, more than a quarter work at institutions with an endowment in excess of $20 million. Of the 220 who received the survey, 95 responded, a majority of whom work at general or encyclopedic museums. (These represent a small slice of American museums, it should be said; the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services estimated in 2014 that there were upward of 35,000 museums nationwide.)
The report comes amid an ongoing crisis for the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, where local authorities recently seized several photographs by Sally Mann that show her then-minor children in the nude on child pornography concerns after the museum came in for criticism from local Republican elected officials. (The photographs, which appear in many museums throughout the world, have no explicit sexual content.)
The Museum of Modern Art, Fort Worth. Photo: ShengYing Lin, via Shutterstock.
In recent years there have been several high-profile incidents of institutions removing work from view, stemming from various concerns. The report cites Shaun Leonardo’s work dealing with police violence against men and boys of color, which was to go on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland in a show that the institution canceled; three artists’ work on the theme of abortion at a university gallery in Idaho that was removed from an exhibition for potentially being seen as advocating for reproductive rights, in violation of local laws; and Palestinian artist Samia Halaby’s canceled exhibition at Indiana University’s Eskenazi Museum.
On a much larger scale, as the report noted, Florida governor Ron DeSantis canceled arts funding to Sunshine State arts organizations, supposedly over fears regarding “sexual festivals.”
Fully one-fifth of respondents indicated that censorship is “a very big problem.” Nearly three-quarters judged it to be “somewhat of a problem,” and 55 percent say that, compared to 10 years ago, censorship is a “much bigger problem for museums today.”
What might surprise the reader, in light of this, is that “90 percent of respondents do not have a written censorship policy, to set out procedures for responding to formal or informal challenges, including under what conditions it might alter exhibitions.” Their response to complaints or efforts at censorship, they indicate, is case-by-case and reactive. “This overall lack of formal preparedness is a concern,” noted the report.
AAMD, in an emailed statement, stressed that actual incidents of censorship are relatively rare, saying: “From our read of the data, the gap is about perception: that people report perceiving this as a concern, but a concern that rarely manifests in external action. For example, as awful as the situation at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is, situations like that are also (thankfully) very rare.”
Police stand in front of the Brooklyn Museum of Art during the “Sensation” show. Photo: James Leynse / Corbis via Getty Images.
The organization touted its own work on this subject, referring to a crusade by then-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani over a 1989–90 show of advertising magnate Charles Saatchi’s collection at the Brooklyn Museum, saying, “AAMD has been a strong, consistent, and very active voice against censorship—especially when our support is requested by members, as was the case with ‘Sensation.’”
Asked whether AAMD could take the lead on developing such policies, the organization replied, “Yes, this is an ongoing conversation within the Association about our members’ needs, and the survey research was part of this process.”
The Findings: A ‘Gray Zone’ That Could Be Exploited
Censorship can come from either side of the political divide, directors indicated, although almost no one—3 percent of respondents—fears censorship from Democratic elected officials, whereas some 41 percent fear censorship from the GOP, followed by board members (13.2 percent), the public (11 percent), and staff (7 percent).
“The question of what qualifies as curation and what qualifies as censorship or self-censorship remains blurred,” noted the report. “If the pressure to self-censor continues to rise in the art world, it is this very gray zone between curation and censorship that could be most leveraged and exploited by censors.”
Igor Mitoraj’s sculpture ‘Eros Bendato’ (Eros Bound) at the Main Square in Krakow, Poland. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images).
And while museums canceling Shaun Leonardo’s show, for example, may be self-censorship, there are examples of big-C censorship, the kind originating with the state, to contend with. The report cites three 2023 bills, in North Dakota, South Carolina, and West Virginia, “that would remove exemptions from criminal liability for exhibiting sexually explicit material or nudity to minors for bona fide professionals engaged in education, including museum workers.” The report warned that, say, an ancient Greek statue could result in criminal charges under these proposed bills. Thankfully, all three failed. But the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint for conservative legislation proposes a similar approach to sexual content in libraries, which could conceivably be applied to museums.
“We are bold activists!” one director commented. But that respondent was an outlier, and in fact many expressed fear about being branded as “politicized” by right-wingers.
“It seems that now it is inevitable,” one professional wrote, “that we offend someone.”
Some two-thirds of respondents had experienced some pressure from visitors, donors, board members, and education professionals to nix an exhibition or an artwork in the course of their careers.
“Others described ‘considerable pressure’ to refuse to exhibit the work of Palestinian artists, especially if it addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the report noted. Such issues even predated 2023 in some cases. In one case, images of watermelons, even though intended simply as a still-life subject, set off alarm bells since they have become symbols for the Palestinian cause.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters, holding banners and flags, gather on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum to hold a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York City, New York, United States on March 24, 2024. Photo: Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images.
One director indicated that censorship is “fairly equal” from both sides, and that AAMD has focused on government censorship but has “soft-pedaled” intervention by social justice activists, adding, “The self-censorship caused by this threat is at least as tangible as that posed by Trumpists—at least here.” And yet, while the report noted that the museum has become a highly visible site for protests on behalf of causes ranging from climate change to the war in Gaza, not a single director listed such groups in their written responses.
In terms of public complaint, they most anticipate protests over art critical of Christianity—at 30 percent—far greater than art by a Palestinian artist (18 percent), by an Israeli artist (13 percent), or depicting a pro-choice theme (19 percent).
“Self-censorship can seep into their decision-making,” warned the report. This expressed itself in directors’ efforts to be “more tactful,” or a decision to “self-censor” because of #MeToo concerns and an artist’s past history, or not wanting to “poke the bear” of audience sentiment on a touchy issue, or objections by “major prude donors” to nudity leading to avoiding controversy.
“As pressures mount against museums, this report came at a great moment,” said Julie Trébault, executive director of Artists at Risk Connection, in a phone interview. “The report highlights the reality of museum directors. It’s a complex and challenging position.”
Institutions like libraries have had to deal with such challenges for much longer, she said, and thus are more likely to have stated policies. “For museums, it’s the beginning,” she said. “The fact they are sharing their thoughts and thinking this through is good.”
