Wouldn’t you know it. I thought I knew every major museum in NYC after having lived there for years and visited for many more. Turns out, I don’t – I have never been to the Queens art museum. This is a particularly regrettable fact given that the director of the museum is a woman of courage and deeply held convictions.

http://www.queensmuseum.org

Unlike almost all of her contemporary counterparts she is willing to engage in open politics – more power to her. The link attached below describes the role she has played in the last years and the causes she has fought for since Trump’s inauguration, the plight of the DACA recipients in particular. She is clearly paying a price for her outspoken involvement; although her Board seems to support her, various City councilmen are out to have her removed.

.https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/08/arts/design/queens-museum-laura-raicovich-daca.html?_r=0

I know of only one other group of museums who were willing to step up and question the artificial separation between art and reality; see link below.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-entertainment-news-updates-march-museum-directors-react-to-proposed-1489682884-htmlstory.html

One can debate if the role of museums should be one of neutrality, as many insist, particularly the folks at the Smithsonian. The argument for taking the long view, letting art speak for itself rather than the museum speaking for or against political causes seems empty to me, when almost all museums show this or that work of political artists anyhow. If you curate shows that have political content, you might as well be open about where you stand regarding those contents. The viewers are smart enough to form their own assessments, as long as the opportunity to be exposed to differing points of view exist.

There will always be pressure from interest groups to have art suppressed – that has been true for as long as art exists. Just ask around Jewish museums in this country or in Germany, as one example. Or the Guggenheim, recently.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-spertus_21jun21-story.html

What we need now, in times where the role of art is undermined by those who have lots to loose with a more educated public, is individuals who stand up and speak truth; truth through the selection of what they are willing to show, as well as through directly addressing the relevant issues. Laura Raicovich is one of them.

Photographs are of street art found in various boroughs in NYC, most Bed-Stuy.