Wall + Response Exhibition at Public Library Shut Down Due to Censorship

Dear Friends,

We are sorry to announce the Wall + Response exhibition scheduled to open at the San Francisco Public Library this weekend on March 12, 2022 with public programming scheduled for March 13, April 30, and July 9 has been shut down.

The Library initially informed us, after having been working closely together for four months and one week before the opening, that the exhibition would only move forward if the Arab Liberation Mural was removed from the show. Our collective multi-racial and intergenerational community of artists, poets, and community-based organizations responded with the following letter:

https://drive.google.com/.../1xw4lbBvA6Klpngj0wPH.../view...

We were then informed, the Arab Liberation Mural could be included, but only if the sign "Zionism is Racism" was removed/censored from the work based on it being seen as anti-Semitic and targeting a specific race/ethnic community.

This is unacceptable to us because by conflating Zionism with Judaism, it is clear the San Francisco’s Public Library is caving to right-wing and Islamophobic rhetoric. Zionism is a political ideology, which is being used to defend an apartheid state. It is not a race and/or an ethnic community, and to understand it as such, is disrespectful to Jewish and all communities who are critical of and do not support the apartheid State of Israel. To conflate Zionism and Judaism is like coalescing white supremacy with Christianity; they are not the same.

While art may challenge dominant narratives, causing difficult and uncomfortable conversations, the harm to community comes from structural racism including institutions ignoring or denying the experiences of others. That is not only harmful, but it is also dangerous; especially at this point in history when there are large factions of the United States banning works that speak to the importance and value of critical thinking and the lived experiences of communities which have and continue to experience racism and oppression by a dominant culture.

You can read our second full response to the SF Public Library here:

https://drive.google.com/.../11p3Z50cJKl285EYX8dI.../view...

To keep our integrity, the integrity of the work, and to honor a community that values and respects truth and critical thinking, the only resolution for us is to move forward with the exhibition as is and to inform our communities about this shameful decision by the San Francisco Public Library.

You can read more about the Wall + Response project here:

https://clarionalleymuralproject.org/off.../wall-response/

In community,

Megan Wilson and Maw Shein Win

Curators, Wall + Response