The Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, DC, has terminated an exhibition of works by Afro-Latino, Caribbean, and African American artists after the Trump administration allegedly withdrew the show’s funding amid crackdowns on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs.
Before The Americas, curated by Cheryl D. Edwards and four years in the making, was slated to open on March 21 and set to include 40 works exploring migration, colonial challenges, and interconnectivity in the African diaspora in the Americas. These included works by the late Alonzo Davis, who founded one of the first Black-owned contemporary art galleries in the United States, and Mexican-American sculptor Elizabeth Catlett.
“This would have been the first show that they would have had this many African American artists in their galleries at one time,” Edwards told Hyperallergic.
Edwards, who was commissioned to curate the show in 2021, told Hyperallergic that on February 10 museum leadership informed her that the Trump administration had labeled the exhibition as a “DEI program and event” and withdrawn funding for the show earmarked by the Biden administration.
The Art Museum of the Americas, which holds a collection of more than 2,000 items related to Latin American and Caribbean art, is an arm of the Organization of American States (OAS), a diplomatic body focusing on human rights, democracy, security, and development in the Western Hemisphere. The United States is one of 34 nations that belong to the organization.
The Trump administration has not yet appointed a new head of the US Mission to the OAS, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued updated missions and priorities for its participation in diplomacy including “eliminating our focus on political and cultural causes that are divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad.”
When Edwards offered to fundraise for the show through private donors, she said, the museum declined.
“This is not a fundraising issue,” Edwards told Hyperallergic. “This is an issue of silencing DEI visual voices … and discrimination based upon race, caste, and class.”
According to internal emails reviewed by Hyperallergic, the US government was the primary sponsor of the exhibition. As of Monday, February 24, the museum lists no upcoming exhibitions in 2025 on its website.
The OAS, US Mission to the OAS, and the Art Museum of the Americas have not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Edwards said that she was designing the exhibition catalogue when she was informed that the exhibition was “terminated and defunded by the current administration of the United States Government and excluded and labeled as a DEI program and event.”
“This is exactly what I was told,” Edwards noted.
Artist and gallerist Michelle Talibah, whose painting “One” (1979) was part of the show, told Hyperallergic that by terminating the exhibition, Art Museum of the Americas had dismissed its mission to promote cultural exchange.
“At a time when institutions of cultural and historical significance are facing systemic dismantling, we are also witnessing the erosion of free expression and artistic freedom: casualties of forces determined to distort narratives and manipulate an uncertain future,” Talibah said.
Edwards said her exhibition was connected to the OAS’s 2016 Plan of Action for the Decade for Persons of African Descent in the Americas resolution, which outlines activities to “promote awareness of the situation of people of African descent in the Americas.” In the plan, the resolution encourages the Art Museum of the Americas to showcase artworks by artists of African descent.
“This is an exhibition of unification,” mixed-media artist Claudia “Aziza” Gibson-Hunter, whose painting “You Got to Give Up the Stuff that Weighs You Down” (2022) was slated to be included in the show, told Hyperallergic over email.
“With the centuries of erasure, there are still aspects of the ‘before’ that seep through to the work of artists of African descent even today,” Gibson-Hunter said. “To have this exhibition censored [is] another vicious cultural act that future generations may attempt to deny because it might prick some sense of guilt.”
“The termination of this exhibition raises broader concerns about artistic freedom and oppression,” another participating artist who requested to be identified anonymously, citing credible immigration concerns, told Hyperallergic.
“To what lengths will this government go to silence POC, Black Trans, and Queer voices? Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not threats; they are fundamental values that enrich, acknowledge, and embrace the reality that we live in a society that is made up of many different people,” the artist said.
Edwards said she is hoping to show the exhibition at an alternative location later this year.
