Overview

• The National Coalition Against Censorship and the Vera List Center released the “Cultural Freedom Demands Collective Courage” statement, developed after a May convening on threats to artistic freedom.
• More than 150 organizations and hundreds of artists and cultural workers signed, including Americans for the Arts, the American Alliance of Museums, the College Art Association, the Public Theater, the Japanese American National Museum, DiverseWorks, and the Alabama Arts Alliance.
• The text commits signatories to maintain programmatic independence, resist external political pressure, and stand with institutions facing interference.
• Coverage ties the statement to recent federal actions such as reported termination of over $27 million in NEA grants, bans on DEI initiatives in federal agencies, staff reductions at NEA, NEH, and IMLS, and public pressure on the Smithsonian.
• Most major museums—including the Met, MoMA, the Whitney, the Guggenheim, and the New Museum—are absent from the initial list, a gap coverage notes as conspicuous given concerns about funding risk and potential retaliation.