The Statement Responds to Urgent Concern That Artistic and Intellectual Freedom in the United States is Under Threat.
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics (VLC) have launched Cultural Freedom Demands Collective Courage: A Nation-Wide Statement of Values and Principles for the Field of Arts and Culture (The Statement), a months-long collective mobilization initiative in the face of more than $27 million in NEA grant terminations as well as increasingly urgent concern that social and governmental pressures are leading to preemptive institutional compliance with government interests, and that artistic and intellectual freedom in the United States is currently under serious threat. To date, the Statement has signatories representing more than 150 cultural institutions and more than 275 individuals working across the art and culture sector.
“Arts and cultural institutions across the United States—whether or not they are directly impacted by shifts in policy or the withdrawal of government funding—face increasing pressure on their programming decisions,”
states Elizabeth Larison, Director of the Arts & Culture Advocacy Program at NCAC.
“In this moment of fear and uncertainty, it is important for cultural institutions and cultural workers to act with courage, recommit to their missions, and not forget their reasons for doing the work they do. Preemptively adjusting programs to appease would-be government censors will erode the integrity of our cultural institutions, and the independence of the field as a whole.”
“Culture and cultural diversity are at the core of democracy. For both privately run and non-profit organizations, our mandate is to maintain our programmatic independence so we can serve the public. That is what democracy demands from us,” says Carin Kuoni, VLC Senior Director and Chief Curator. “Our field as a whole, regardless of funding sources, needs collective action and courage as we face an environment of increasing censorship and retaliatory rhetoric regarding socially and politically engaged art.”
In May 2025, NCAC and the VLC convened a group of cultural leaders to assess needs and develop strategies in response to present threats to artistic and curatorial freedom and institutional independence. This meeting led to a call to action for an alliance of institutions and individuals working across the cultural sector to unite behind shared values›. A subset of the group drafted The Statement articulating a set of foundational principles and shared values that unite America’s diverse arts and cultural field. The Statement reasserts the arts sector’s commitment to retain programmatic independence and resist pressures of institutional self-censorship, which is the only way to ensure that future generations inherit robust cultural institutions that stimulate the imagination, engender free thinking, and incubate new futures.
The full text of The Statement follows:
Arts and culture bring people together. They spark joy, foster belonging, enrich communities, and help us imagine new possibilities. Arts and culture also open space for complexity—for grappling with different perspectives, for hearing what we might rather ignore, and for facing what makes us uncomfortable. Cultural organizations, including art, culture, history, and science museums, as well as libraries, theaters, and dance and performance spaces, make these encounters possible. They are key to the functioning of a democracy, as they promote freedom of expression, encourage critical thinking, and create important opportunities for public discussion and dissent.
To perform this role and serve the public with responsibility and integrity, cultural institutions must maintain autonomy over programming choices, curatorial decisions, and artistic content. They need the freedom to showcase visionary work that inspires, is unexpected, challenges dominant narratives, and questions those in power. Exercising programmatic autonomy is essential to preserving institutional purpose and resilience in the face of ideological pressure. If institutions don’t live up to this mandate, they risk becoming instruments of propaganda and subject to the whims of those temporarily in power.
In offering access to a broad range of artistic and cultural expression, arts and cultural institutions invite us to empathize with the experience of others and ask questions we might not consider otherwise. This brings nuance into polarizing conversations and supports a core value defining an open and free society: the capacity to hold differences.
As contributors to the sphere of art and culture, and as representatives of US art and cultural institutions that create space for art, ideas, innovation, and public engagement, we stand firm in the shared values that make for a robust arts and culture landscape: free expression, active debate, responsibility, and care.
In this spirit, we affirm our commitment to the following:
•We will remain true to our democratic responsibility to act as guardians of artistic freedom and independent thought.
•We affirm the independence of our programming in service to our mission and commit to resisting external pressures, thus assuring our organization’s credibility and cultural authority.
•We will stand with fellow institutions facing political pressure and remain a field united by shared values and principles.
Learn more: collective-courage.com
About
Founded in 1974, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is a first responder in protecting freedom of expression, a fundamental human right and a keystone of democracy. Representing over 60 national non-profit education, civil rights, publishing, and arts organizations, NCAC provides direct support and resources to people experiencing censorship, including students, artists, teachers, curators, librarians, and leaders of cultural institutions. The Coalition engages in public education, legal advocacy, and youth programming in the service of free expression and to fight censorship in all its forms. ncac.org
The Vera List Center for Art and Politics is an artist-focused research center and public forum for art, culture, and politics. It was established at The New School in 1992—a time of rousing debates about freedom of speech, identity politics, and society’s investment in the arts. A leader in the field, the center is a nonprofit that catalyzes and supports politically engaged art, public scholarship, and research throughout the world. It fosters vibrant and diverse communities of artists, scholars, and policymakers who take creative, intellectual, and political risks to bring about positive change. Through public programs and the VLC Seminars, the Jane Lombard Prize and artist and student fellowships, as well as publications and exhibitions that probe some of the pressing issues of our time, we curate and support new roles for the arts and artists in advancing social justice. veralistcenter.org
