Stop the Censorship of Art in Chicago
Chicago City Council, Mayor of Chicago
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Please sign to demand the exhibit be fully restored and that the Mayor and City Council resist censorship, attacks on democracy, and the silencing of art that rightfully criticizes the US Military and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for the Gaza genocide!
Sponsored by
To:
Chicago City Council, Mayor of Chicago
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Chicago Mayor and City Council,
We, the undersigned, express our support for the artwork titled "US-Israel War Machine" displayed in the Chicago Cultural Center exhibit, Potential Energy: Puppets Up Close. We also condemn the recent act of attempted censorship, in which twenty-seven Chicago alderpeople have written a letter calling for the immediate removal of the display. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events already censored the display by removing its title along with the death count and replacing it with a “sensitive content” warning. We call for the original display to be reinstated.
For decades, from the Civil Rights movement to Iraq War protests to the Black Lives Matter uprisings, protest art has been a way for artists to address social and political issues, and to inspire action. Chicago artists have been at the forefront of resistance to harmful systems of oppression and war. We honor the US-Israel War Machine as part of that lineage. Censorship of this display is not only an attack on artistic expression but also an attack on freedom of speech. Now more than ever, we must uphold the right to protest and dissent as a key feature of a healthy democracy.
US-Israel War Machine depicts puppets of Uncle Sam and Benjamin Netanyahu with blood and tears on their hands, highlighting the genocide on Gaza carried out by the Israeli military and abetted by the US government’s support, funding, and weaponry. The alderpeoples' letter baselessly paints this art display as antisemitic. Not only does this falsely equate criticism of Israel’s violence with antisemitism, it silences Palestinian artists and voices who are impacted by Israel’s violence. This is the latest in a familiar right-wing playbook, which has targeted non-violent student encampments, attacked the City Council's symbolic resolution calling for an end to Israeli military violence, and even claimed that Jewish-led protests against the war are antisemitic. These tactics do not keep Jewish communities safe, but instead sow division among our communities and redirect our focus away from legitimate and extreme rising antisemitism, white supremacy, Islamophobia, and anti-Palestinian violence.
To the twenty-seven alders promoting the censorship of artistic expression in Chicago: SHAME ON YOU! Amidst the ongoing unhoused crisis, economic struggles of working people, attacks on immigrants, and other issues plaguing our city, to misdirect our attention toward false accusations of antisemitism is a distraction we cannot afford. We are particularly disturbed that these actions come just days after the inauguration of a president who promises to remove anything not aligned with his ideologies, including people. We demand the exhibit be fully restored and that the Mayor and City Council resist censorship, attacks on democracy, and the silencing of art!
With pride, dignity, and lineage,
Artists of Chicago