Who Is Silencing Whom? looks at how non-participation can be, and often is, construed as involuntary censorship, by oneself or others.
Among a wide range of instruments for political engagement, the refusal to engage is increasingly exercised by individuals and institutions as they seek alternative ways to account for political conflicts in the fields they're working in. Who are the censors when cultural producers decide not to engage? When does self-censorship become a legitimate concern for a community, and when does it represent compliance with powers beyond or outside of a community? When is silence unacceptable?
In this lively debate, curators, scholars and artists deconstruct the term of censorship to arrive at a more nuanced and politically effective approach to not speaking, or not speaking directly. In particular, this event addresses persistent arguments that a cultural boycott silences – or isolates – those it is meant to support, that it butts against freedom of speech. Among the speakers are Chelsea Haines, Ben Katchor, Eddy Portnoy, Rhoda Rosen and Bayeté Ross Smith. Svetlana Mincheva is the moderator.
Lower Manhattan, New York, NY