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article policy schedule Feb 18, 2026 visibility 11 link 2 artists

University of North Texas Students Withdraw Thesis Shows, Citing Censorship

Graduate students in the University of North Texas's MFA Studio Art program are withdrawing their upcoming thesis exhibitions in protest. Their action is a direct response to the unexplained cancellation of artist Victor "Marka27" Quiñonez's solo show, "Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá," which addressed Mexican-American identity and violence by ICE. The school papered over the gallery windows and removed the exhibition page without providing a public rationale to the artist or the community.

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UNT art students protest exhibit’s removal with a funeral for freedom of speech

Students at the University of North Texas (UNT) staged a protest in the form of a funeral for freedom of speech at their College of Visual Arts and Design gallery. They were responding to the unexplained removal of the exhibition "Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá" by street artist Victor Quiñonez (Marka27). The students, dressed in black, laid flowers on a Mexican flag and wrote messages to administrators, delivering eulogies for the silenced artwork and expression.