A DECADE AGAINST CENSORSHIP

by Mary Ann Peters
(excerpted from the Artist Trust Journal, Winter 2000)

In July of this year, NCFE (National Campaign for Freedom of Expression) closed its office. For a decade the organization had run interference for artists, nationwide, whose First Amendment rights had been challenged. NCFE was founded in response to the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) rescinding of grants awarded to four performance artists whose work content was targeted as inappropriate and immoral. Pushed by the conservative ranting of Sen. Jesse Helms, the timidity of NEA Chairman John Frohnmayer, and the despair around the proceedings that briefly (and dramatically) closed down the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition in Cincinnati, a group of arts activists around the country decided to take action. Through their collective concern, they learned that free expression as defined by the First Amendment guarantees an open voice for creative thinking and that censorship can be identified and disputed in the arts. A court battle ensued restoring to the grantees their NEA support and upholding their constitutional rights, but at great expense to their reputations and personal privacy. Finley vs. NEA ultimately went to the Supreme Court. The case was the first time the arts had been discussed in the highest court in the land.

I got involved with NCFE through the encouragement of my friend, David Mendoza, founding director of Artist Trust until he took on the leadership of NCFE. By the mid-1990's, artists nationwide were being vilified on a regular basis for addressing topics that informed the discussion around inclusiveness, be it class, gender, race, cultural heritage, or sexual orientation. Some were famous but most were not. NCFE worked on behalf of these artists in a variety of ways, from listening to artists concerns to becoming a legal mediator. David Mendoza was their public advocate. The NCFE office kept a record of each incident. It produced an invaluable newsletter that chronicled the various challenges and attendant issues from coast to coast. The organization compiled all the information into a handbook on how to understand and intercept censorship, with an index of whom in the arts community would be a reliable ally should an artist need help. It was a small organization with huge concerns. My role on the NCFE board was initially to keep them grounded about the experiences of artists. It ended as the Board President making a decision to close the organization down.

The reasons for closing NCFE are not surprising to many in the arts. A lack of funding and sheer exhaustion are the most obvious causes, but the most potent explanation is that most censorial activity is happening "in house," in our studios, within the decisions of our curators, and in the boardrooms of our arts organizations. The pressure of accountability has taken its toll and a small entity like NCFE cannot get a seat at the table to inform the conversation when tough questions surface. This is unfortunate, however, we can continue to make available all that NCFE has learned - through our friends and associates who remain committed to the well being of artists. They are as follows:

• Artist Trust will be a liaison for those of us in Washington State who might need advice about censorship concerns and will distribute the NCFE Handbook.
• The First Amendment Institute in San Francisco has taken the NCFE 1-800 line, which provides an immediate response to an artist's inquiries, including legal advice.  They too will distribute the NCFE Handbook.
• The National Association of Artists Organizations (NAAO) in Washington, DC will house all our legal records, including the Finley v. NEA case.
• The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) will keep our fiscal records.
• The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has taken our mailing list and will provide updated information to our constituency about free expression issues. 

It is poignant that I am writing this the day before the 2000 presidential elections. Whoever takes office will shape the mindset of the public around artistic endeavor in all of its forms. I am certain that there is still plenty of work ahead to ensure that creative thinking thrives in our country. I hope that the legacy of NCFE will provide future groups with a blueprint of how and why the artist's voice is so central to our experience and worth fighting for.

Mary Ann Peters is a visual artist living in Seattle, and the former President of the Board of the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression.  She was a Presidents’ Award recipient from Artist Trust in 1997 and the 2000 recipient of the Neddy Award for painting.

RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS FACING CENSORSHIP

Call Artist Trust program staff (206/467-8734 x9, or 1-866-21TRUST) to learn if your challenge is a censorship issue. Often, what at first appears to be a censorship issue may actually be a contract dispute or other legal issue, or simply a curatorial decision.

The NCFE Handbook to Understanding, Preparing for, and Responding to Challenges to Your Freedom of Artistic Expression. Reference copy and copies for purchase are available in the administrative office of Artist Trust.

The First Amendment Project, directed by former NCFE Program Director David Greene (dgreene@thefirstamendment.org). The toll-free number, inherited from NCFE, is 1-800-477-6233. Their direct office phone is 510/208-7744. www.thefirstamendment.org.

The Arts Advocacy Project of the National Coalition Against Censorship. Project Coordinator is Svetlana Mintcheva (svetlana@ncac.org). Phone 212/807-6222 x23. www.ncac.org.