On September 13, 2024, Michigan State University (MSU) canceled the opening party for several new exhibitions at the university’s Broad Museum. The cancellation occurred earlier in the day for which it was planned and came after concerns were raised about a collage included in one of the new exhibitions, “Diasporic Collage: Puerto Rico and the Survival of a People.” MSU later moved the collage and altered the signage accompanying it without consulting the exhibit’s curators.
Yomaira Figueroa-Vasquez, an art curator, and former MSU professor, curated the “Diasporic Collage” exhibit together with several others. Among the collages that appeared as part of the exhibit was one by Kuwaiti-Puerto Rican artist Alia Farid, titled “Piquete en el capitolio,” (2023), featuring a 1973 photograph of a protest for Palestinian rights and against US military aid to Israel that took place outside of the capitol building in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Demonstrators are pictured holding signs with slogans such as “Justice for the Palestinians” and “Down with the Zionist Occupation.”
On September 13, MSU officials emailed the artists and museum staff to notify them that the opening celebration, scheduled for later that day, would be canceled because of “staffing and ongoing capacity issues.” Instead of the opening event, MSU officials facilitated a private tour of the exhibition for artists and selected guests, who were required to enter the Broad Museum through a side entrance.
On September 18, MSU officials asked “Diasporic Collage” curator Figueroa-Vasquez and one of her co-curators Dalina Perdomo Álvarez to attend a meeting at which they were told that they would need to alter the exhibit in response to a complaint about “Piquete en el capitolio.” However, as they left the museum, Figueroa-Vasquez and Álvarez saw that the university had already made changes, including moving the collage and adding a sign to the exhibit’s entrance stating, “Some content in this exhibition draws connections to Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the depiction of protest signs that include controversial content. The views expressed by the artists, faculty and curators in this exhibition are their own.”
MSU later issued a statement recognizing that “the decision to alter the exhibition happened quickly” and expressing “regret [for] the impact this has had on all involved.”
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the cancellation of a previously approved on-campus event, apparently in response to public pressure. Higher education leaders should respect academic freedom by refraining from restrictions on academic activity. Attempts to limit academic discussion and exchange undermine academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and democratic society generally. In addition, the decision to place warning language at the start of the exhibition may raise concerns about university autonomy if made as a result of outside influence.
Sources:
https://statenews.com/article/2024/09/msus-handling-of-exhibit-featuring-pro-palestinian-sentiment-raises-concerns-of-censorship-racism
https://www.wkar.org/wkar-news/2024-09-20/msu-broad-places-warning-on-exhibit-featuring-puerto-rican-artists-and-pro-palestinian-sentiments
https://hyperallergic.com/951784/michigan-state-university-accused-of-censoring-pro-palestine-artwork/
https://mesana.org/advocacy/committee-on-academic-freedom/2024/10/08/letter-to-michigan-state-university-expressing-concern-about-the-universitys-censorship-of-an-exhibition-at-the-broad-art-museum
https://www.yomairafigueroa.com/dispatchesfromthediaspora/2024/9/18/statement-on-the-cancellation-of-the-broad-museum-opening-event-and-the-censorship-of-the-diasporic-collage-puerto-rico-and-the-survival-of-a-people-exhibitionnbsp