National Coalition Against Censorship Urges Queens Library to Restore Canceled Photography Exhibition
From NCAC:
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) urges Queens Library to restore an exhibition of photographs it canceled and allow it to run for three weeks as originally planned.
Drew Kerr’s exhibition, Faces of The 7 Train, consists of 32 black-and-white photographs that the artist shot of passengers on the 7 train over the course of six years. Queens Library General Deputy Counsel and other administrators were concerned that displaying these portraits on library premises would expose unsuspecting citizens who ride the 7 train to law-enforcement officials and agencies such as ICE.
By cancelling Kerr’s show, Queens Library is suppressing public access to artwork that is fully protected under the Constitution on purely subjective grounds. While NCAC appreciates the effort to protect all Queens residents, including undocumented immigrants, it is not clear how anonymous portraits of commuters taken over a long period of time, could put them at risk.
Read the Complete Announcement and Full Text of Letter From NCAC to Queens Library
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.