Two months ago, the University of North Texas removed an exhibit by popular street artist Victor Quiñonez, known as Marka27, whose work criticized tactics used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The university's decision drew national attention and accusations of censorship.
Now, students in the College of Visual Arts & Design (CVAD) are opting out of displaying their art on campus, deciding instead to showcase their work in DIY pop-up spaces across Denton and Dallas. They say it's a form of protest over the university censoring other artists, like Quiñonez and Fatima Kubra.
Kubra's piece, referencing the war in Gaza, was removed from the Student Union Gallery a year ago after critics lobbied Denton representatives in the Texas House, claiming the artwork was antisemitic.
"Our programs are supposed to be encouraging and help us explore critical thinking and emotional expression, whereas censorship makes us silence ourselves," UNT student Alexandra Elmendorf said. "So now people are scared and they want to go with the status quo."
"Morale here at CVAD has been incredibly low," UNT student Lynn May added. "No one's really happy and no one really wants to even put this school in their CV."
At one of the Oak Cliff pop-up art galleries — dubbed 2 Bed 1 Bath — family, friends and visitors packed into the small apartment on Saturday to chat, eat and celebrate the artwork on display.
Ryan Semegran and Kassidy Stines, UNT CVAD alumni and co-founders of the makeshift gallery, live in the apartment and curated the show. They filled any available wall space with art — including above the doorway and in the hallway.
The show is called "Institutional Critique" to signal the artists' displeasure with UNT. It featured work by May and Elmendorf as well as Forest Nehemiah, Aidan Kearns and Lillie Hickman.
Semegran told the Denton Record-Chronicle that after Quiñonez's exhibit was removed from campus, they felt embarrassed to have attended school there.
"The university is actively choosing not to show work that we're learning about in classrooms," they said. "That [these artists] feel scared to show work that's about their own lived experiences, I think that that in itself is a big indicator of the institution failing them."
Stines also expressed her disappointment with her alma mater.
"It's not a great look ... with this particular artist and his subject matter being censored like this at an institution that is historically known for being fairly progressive," she said.
"Institutional Critique" opened on Saturday, April 25, but 2 Bed 1 Bath is taking reservations for additional showings until May 3.
To schedule a time to view the gallery, you can reach out via their Instagram page.
