Art has always made people think. It is supposed to stretch us, test us, and provoke us. Yet today, many artists live with the looming terror that a single belief expressed or one misunderstood line might end their career. That fear is not only chilling, but it destroys the conditions for creative courage.
Civility in the Arts (CITA) was founded because the arts should never demand ideological uniformity or punish difference. We believe artists deserve protection from smears, pile-ons, and professional exile - not because art must always be “safe,” but because artists cannot create when under constant threat.
We’ve all seen it by now.
Regina Spektor being shouted down mid-performance by angry political activists for being Jewish. Róisín Murphy facing fierce backlash and industry cold-shouldering after publicly questioning puberty blockers. Morrissey navigating cancellations and threats. Winston Marshall stepping away from his globally successful band after expressing concerns about violent extremism. Matisyahu seeing shows pulled amid protests over his pro-Israel stance. These are not rare cases; they are among a growing number of examples of artists being canceled, smeared, and dogpiled by ideologues who reject diversity in art.
Most Americans get along far better than headlines suggest. Studies like the Perception Gap show how Americans routinely misrepresent our “opponents’” beliefs, imagining extremes where none exist. That misunderstanding has seeped into the arts, turning colleagues into caricatures and peers into pariahs. We reject that. The arts should be at least as humane as ordinary life - curious, plural, open.
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Our work is action-based. Through grants, we will lift young artists whose work and conduct embody civility and creative courage. Through media campaigns, we will champion the idea that civility is strength and that disagreement without dehumanization is the mark of a mature culture. Through exhibitions and future galas, we will celebrate artists who are building, not burning; who challenge without cruelty and who question without contempt.
We won’t agree on everything. We shouldn’t. But we can make a pact: no misrepresentation of our peers, no mobbing, and no litmus tests for belonging in the arts. We can insist on the dignity of those we don’t yet understand. We can lead with love.
Art at its best teaches us how to be human, and it cannot achieve that if we strip humanity from the artist.
CITA exists to pull us back from the brink. We are not a political organization. We do not intend to referee the issues of the day. We are here to restore the moral conditions in which art thrives: respect, empathy, civility. We believe artists should demonstrate courage to care for people with whom they may disagree, and the grace to keep working together anyway.
