Museum Best Practices for Managing Controversy

Managing Museums

July 2018

The Museum Best Practices for Managing Controversy document was co-authored by the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Arts Advocacy Project and six collaborating national arts organizations. For details on the history of this document please visit Museum Best Practices’ Background.

The board of CIMAM (2016-2019) has been discussing how best to advise its membership on dealing with controversial content in the wake of a number of recent cases where there was public pressure to remove work from exhibition. This comprehensive document is an excellent guide for all museum and gallery staff committed to supporting artists in presenting work that deals with difficult issues in the context of the new reality of social media which can inflame public opinion and lead to threats of violence against staff.

Museum Best Practices for Managing Controversy