Overview

• Nicholas Galanin and Margarita Cabrera pulled out on September 12, saying the private, no-recording rules effectively censored participants and limited public accountability.
• A Smithsonian American Art Museum spokesperson rejected the censorship claim, saying not all presenters consented to being recorded and that social-media sharing would not be permitted.
• The invite-only symposium, not listed on the museum’s website, opened as scheduled with a curated roster that included Hamza Walker, Titus Kaphar, Miguel Luciano, and Aruna D’Souza.
• The event is tied to The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture, an exhibition targeted in a March executive order from President Trump criticizing certain Smithsonian shows as divisive.
• Galanin, whose 2016 work appears in the exhibition, posted his intended remarks and asked they be shared with attendees, while the museum expressed disappointment at his withdrawal and did not immediately comment on Cabrera.