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.
This incident matters because it highlights a growing pattern of censorship in the arts, particularly at institutions under pressure from political ideologies—here, the Trump administration's attacks on nonprofit organizations. The exhibition, which centered on hands as symbols of labor, identity, and care, was curated by museum director Andrea Gyorody and had been open since September 6 with a scheduled run through March 29. The artists' withdrawal and the school's closure reflect tensions between artistic expression and institutional policies, raising concerns about free speech and the role of art in addressing social and political issues. The story also underscores the vulnerability of university museums to administrative interference.