For Immediate Release - August 6, 2001

For more information contact:
Svetlana Mintcheva, National Coalition Against Censorship - 212/807-6222 x 23
David Greene, First Amendment Project - 510/208-7743
Jennifer Ring, ACLU of the Dakotas - 701/461-7290

Today, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the First Amendment Project and the ACLU of the Dakotas applauded the decision of the Brookings Arts Council to reconsider its initial rejection of Joy Crane's "Chastity Belt - Circa 2001" and put the work on display in its 25th Annual Juried Art Exhibit.

"Chastity Belt" - a beaded chastity belt bolted to what looks like a brick wall and including words and phrases like "Bush vs. Roe Wade," "Right to Life," "Abuse," "Equal Pay," "Chauvinism," "Rape" and "Genital Mutilation" - had been rejected because it was considered to be "not appropriate" for the exhibition space and potentially too controversial for Brookings, SD.

Although officials at BAC have not officially stated the reasons why they reversed their initial decision, there was pressure on the Council to re-display the work: The NCAC, the First Amendment Project and the ACLU of the Dakotas jointly authored a letter informing the Council of the constitutional issues its action raised and advocating that the work be put on display as soon as possible. The NCAC also informed local supporters of free expression as well as other South Dakota arts institutions of the incident.

Svetlana Mintcheva, Arts Advocacy Project Coordinator at NCAC, expressed her satisfaction with the Council's decision: "I am glad the Brookings Arts Council has recognized that, although some artistic expression might provoke debate and controversy in the community, such expression is valuable and should not be suppressed."

"Excluding work from a publicly funded arts institution for the sole reason that its message could be disagreeable to some people is clearly unconstitutional. We are pleased that BAC realized the implications of their exclusion of 'Chastity Belt' in time to put the work back on display," said David Greene, Executive Director of the First Amendment Project.

The National Coalition Against Censorship has offered BAC assistance in drafting a clear set of guidelines that would preclude arbitrary exclusions in the future. "We hope," said Mintcheva, "that any future guidelines will include a policy stating respect for artistic freedom. Such policies have been successfully adopted by art venues around the country.