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Arkansas Tech University took down an art exhibit on campus after students complained it was “racially insensitive,” according to KATV, an ABC affiliate based in Little Rock. About 300 students marched in protest of the exhibit on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
A university spokesperson told KATV that the exhibition was taken down at the request of the artist, and the artwork was returned.
According to the president of the university’s African American Student Association, many students were not aware of the work until they returned from winter break. He urged the university to be more careful going forward.
“Seeing it and reviewing the artist statement, it didn’t seem like it belonged here,” he told KATV. “I think they could’ve done better, and I think they’re focusing on protecting the wrong party, and I think they’re focusing on reassuring the wrong party.”
KATV did not describe the exhibit or what students objected to, and the exhibit is not currently listed on the Norman Hall Art Gallery’s website (the 2023 schedule lists January and February’s exhibits as “TBA”). However, a Jan. 12 entertainment roundup in The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette describes an exhibit called “Artifacts” scheduled for display in the gallery through Feb. 28.
