Join Janet Marstine for a discussion of her co-edited book, Curating Under Pressure (Routledge 2020), on Tuesday, March 14, at 12 PM via Zoom. This is the first book to look at pressures to self-censor and the curatorial responses to these pressures from a wide range of international perspectives. Curating Under Pressure breaks the silences surrounding curatorial self-censorship and shows that it is both endemic to the practice and ubiquitous, despite the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment (1791) to the US Constitution and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) more globally. Chapters, including Janet’s own which examines the Hong Kong and mainland China context, map the diverse forms such self-censorship takes and offer creative strategies for negotiating curatorial integrity.

Janet’s talk will gives evidence of curators’ political acumen, ethical sagacity and resilience over the long term. It will also challenge the assumption that self-censorship is something to be avoided at all costs and suggest that a decision to self-censor may sometimes be politically and ethically imperative. Her argument serves as a corrective to the assumption that censorship pressures render practitioners impotent. It demonstrates that curatorial practice under pressure offers inspiring models of agency, ingenuity and empowerment.

Dr. Marstine has a particular interest in recognizing and supporting the agency of practitioners to make informed ethical decisions. She has done ethics consulting with institutions from the National September 11 Memorial Museum—on collections policy—to the Royal Air Force Museum—on sponsorship. She sat on the Ethics Committee of the UK’s Museums Association from 2014-2019, helping to move their approach from one of policing to empowerment. Presently, she sits on the Board of the First Amendment Museum.