Urbanowski: Cultural freedom demands collective courage

Last week, the National Coalition Against Censorship released a nationwide statement, signed by more than 500 individuals working across the arts and culture sector and over 200 cultural institutions. It reasserts the arts sector’s commitment to retain programmatic independence and resist pressures of self-censorship under a cloud of growing pressures from new federal policies, executive orders and external threats.

I am proud to have signed on to this statement, with more arts leaders and institutions joining every day — including dozens from our local community.

In the face of increasing threats to artistic and intellectual freedom in the United States, the statement articulates foundational principles and shared values that unite America’s diverse arts and cultural field. We, the sign