Two artists abruptly backed out from their scheduled talk at Harvard in protest of what they saw as a willingness to capitulate by Harvard leadership to the demands of the Trump administration.
Janiva Ellis, whose exhibit “Fear Corroded Ape” is on display at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, and University of California, Berkeley professor Rizvana Bradley denounced Harvard’s decisions to dismiss the faculty leaders of its Center for Middle Eastern Studies and suspend its research partnership with Birzeit University in the West Bank in a joint statement on Instagram.
Those moves preceded the Trump administration’s announcement that it was reviewing nearly 9 billion dollars in planned federal funding to Harvard over what they deemed a “failure” to protect students from antisemitism on campus. Several Harvard affiliates have castigated the CMES dismissals and the suspension of the Birzeit partnership as being preemptive concessions to the federal government.
In a subsequent email, Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 told Harvard affiliates that he intended to “engage” with the federal government. He acknowledged the presence of antisemitism on campus and vowed to “take the measures that will move Harvard and its vital mission forward while protecting our community and its academic freedom.”
Ellis and Bradley wrote that Garber’s message indicated a “capitulatory orientation to the Trump administration’s intimidations.”
“We cannot participate in an event taking place at a university that has chosen to repress academic freedom, to target minority faculty, and to silence dissent,” they added in their Tuesday statement.
Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesperson James M. Chisholm wrote in a statement on behalf of the Carpenter Center that the center “respects” Ellis and Bradley’s “choice of using their platform at this critical moment” and that it is “dedicated to supporting artists and scholars in sharing their work on their own terms.”
“The Carpenter Center’s commitment to open dialogue and intellectual exchange continues through upcoming exhibitions and programs,” he added.
Ellis and Bradley also criticized Adams House’s decision to warn a student attempting to book a house space for a meeting of the African and African American Resistance Organization, an unrecognized student group.
“Solidarity with those who face oppression is crucial, and we stand firmly with those advocating for it,” they wrote.
In the warning notice, Adams House Resident Dean Charles “Chip” Lockwood cited Harvard College’s student handbook, which bars unrecognized student groups from engaging in activities on campus.
Ellis’s exhibit, “Fear Corroded Ape,” highlights unfinished works, contending with what it means for art to be complete. It is set to close Sunday.
—Staff writer Sophie Gao can be reached at sophie.gao@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sophiegao22.
—Staff writer Alexandra M. Kluzak can be reached at alexandra.kluzak@thecrimson.com.
