Art Museum of the Americas
201 18th St NW
Washington, DC
20006
To the Executive Director and members of the board, the Art Museum of the Americas
CC Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity
Honourable Steven Guilbeault, MP
March 30, 2025
We write from PEN Canada, PEN America and the Artists at Risk Connection, nonpartisan organizations that defend freedom of speech, to express our concern about the abrupt cancellation of an exhibit by Canadian scholar, writer, and artist, Andil Gosine, whose show was to be mounted in the Museum of the Americas this month.
Your rationale for cancelling the show is absence of funding, although the show has been in the works for years and cancelling a show so close to launch is highly unusual. Our concern is that the decision was not based on money, but based on fear.
There has been little rationale for the cancellation of this exhibition communicated publicly. And it is highly unusual to cancel a show like this, in the works for years, so close to its opening. It appears from media reports that the decision was motivated by fear, especially anti-DEI measures signed as Executive Orders by President Trump. These measures are being used to silence artists, dissidents, and members of the targeted groups in ways that are deeply alarming. We see this playing out from corporate America to college campuses, and places of culture and creation, which is why we are writing to you.
The most insidious form of censorship is not carried out by governments, but by institutions, businesses, and individuals who do the government’s bidding, hidden from public scrutiny. People are fired quietly, exhibits are closed, and budgeting decisions are made that cannot be questioned.
There is a worrying convergence of the Art Museum of The Americas’ actions with the stated political aims of the new US administration. Is this an instance of pre-emptive compliance with illiberal directives? We cannot say. But we do know that a Canadian artist has been tossed aside by your institution under suspicious circumstances.
When institutions silence voices and go along to get along, the world becomes more dangerous. We stand ardently for freedom of expression and this requires us to speak out when institutions succumb to fear and cancel those whose voices and work speak out against repression.
We urge your institution, and all others who face similar pressures, to stand up and defend your principles. Start by reinstating this show.
PEN Canada
PEN America
Artists at Risk Connection
