Vasari Art Codex

article news schedule Oct 9, 2025 visibility 2 link 7 artists, 1 gallery

California School Shutters Exhibition After Altering "Political" Art

Pepperdine University, a private Christian university in Malibu, abruptly closed the exhibition "Hold My Hand in Yours" at its Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art six months early after school administrators removed or altered artworks deemed "political." The show, curated by museum director Andrea Gyorody, featured works centered on hands as symbols of labor and identity. At least a dozen artists requested to withdraw after the university turned off Elana Mann's video "Call to Arms 2015-2025" (2025), which documented performances including a 2017 May Day March in Los Angeles with chants supporting immigrants and opposing racism. Administrators also turned a fabric swatch reading "Save the Children" and "Abolish ICE" on a collaborative sculpture by Art Made Between Opposite Sides (AMBOS) so the text was hidden, and removed a sign inviting visitors to touch the work.

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California School Shutters Exhibition After Altering "Political" Art

Pepperdine University, a private Christian university in Malibu, abruptly closed the exhibition "Hold My Hand in Yours" at its Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art six months early, after at least a dozen artists requested to withdraw their works in protest. The school had removed or altered artworks it deemed "political," including Elana Mann's video "Call to Arms 2015-2025" (2025), which documented performances using megaphone-like sculptural instruments and included footage from a 2017 May Day March with chants supporting immigrants and racial justice. Another work by the group AMBOS, a collaborative sculpture featuring an embroidery reading "Save the Children" and "Abolish ICE," was altered by turning the fabric swatch to hide the text and removing a sign inviting visitor interaction. The school did not explain its decisions to the artists.