Editor’s Note: Opinions expressed in letters to the editor are those of the author, and publication in the Graphic in no way represents an endorsement of any opinions published. This space is provided to allow public response and commentary on articles and issues that are covered by the Graphic and important to its readership.
On Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, I wrote to Pepperdine University President Jim Gash, copied to other senior administrators and the faculty union president, to express my grave concern over the censorship of artworks at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art. This letter to the editor expands on that correspondence, out of a conviction that transparency and accountability are essential to restoring integrity to Pepperdine’s artistic and academic mission.
I am deeply proud of The Graphic’s student reporters for their excellent coverage and of the students, faculty and staff who have voiced concerns about artistic and academic freedom. I stand in solidarity with them.
My lifelong connection to Pepperdine runs deep. I am a third-generation Pepperdine alumnus (’02) — one of over ten graduates in my family — and a former adjunct professor who taught at Seaver College for nearly a decade, educating nearly 1,000 students across art history and humanities courses. I attended President Gash’s inauguration alongside my grandfather, professor emeritus Rev. Dr. Laurence C. Keene, who taught sociology for over 40 years from the Los Angeles campus to Malibu. The missions of these disciplines are founded on the conviction that visual culture illuminates who we are, traces the paths of where we have been and shapes our understanding of who we are called to become. Censorship directly undermines that mission, stifling inquiry, critical thinking and the transformative power of art in education.
My first job in the art world was at the Weisman, where I worked as a student attendant. As an undergraduate, I co-founded the Art History Student Society, celebrating creativity through events such as the museum’s “Come As You Art” Halloween contest. The Weisman played a leading role as a space of learning, imagination and belonging. Over the years, I delivered convocation sessions, spoke at career nights and watched my two children learn about art there between classes I taught on campus. In 2023, I returned to Pepperdine to speak at the Weisman for the Thought Partners series at the invitation of its current director, Andrea Gyorody. I was proud to see the museum thrive under her leadership, carrying forward the legacy of the late Dr. Michael Zakian. I never imagined I would soon be using Pepperdine as a case study in museum ethics when the Hyperallergic article appeared in my feed last week.
Along a parallel professional path, I served at the J. Paul Getty Museum, first as an educator (2006–2010) and then as an award-winning curator (2011–2020). I now teach art history, museum studies and theatre at Riverside City College. My professional life has been shaped by the conviction that museums are not neutral spaces, as scholars LaTanya Autry and Mike Murawski remind us: they are civic institutions accountable to the public good, and their credibility rests on ethical stewardship, intellectual independence and respect for artists. Additionally, all art has always been political — reflecting society, questioning or upholding power, amplifying marginalized voices and confronting injustice. Through engagement, art educates, inspires and transforms.
The recent censorship of artworks at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art represents a profound betrayal of Pepperdine’s academic mission, its Christian values and its stated commitment to diversity and global leadership. The justification offered — that nonprofit status forbids the display of art with political overtones — is both legally baseless and intellectually indefensible. Every major university museum in this country operates under the same 501(c)(3) designation and continues to show art that grapples with politics, identity and justice. Displaying an artist’s work does not constitute institutional endorsement; suggesting otherwise reflects a profound misunderstanding of both art and education.
Art exists to provoke thought, to challenge assumptions, and to call us to listen, wrestle with challenging or painful ideas, and grow. That Pepperdine would silence art centered on listening, cross-cultural dialogue and community care should trouble every member of our community. Let us be honest about what this action represents: white administrators censoring art about immigration — created by artists of color — at a Christian university in 2025. This act is not prudence but moral cowardice. It betrays both the Gospel’s call to hospitality and the University’s mission to prepare students for service, purpose and leadership in a diverse and global community.
The University’s own explanation, that the exhibition was “not part of the academic enterprise” because it did not include work by Pepperdine students or faculty, is demonstrably false. The exhibition’s wall text, approved by the museum and Seaver College, clearly states: “As part of the development of this exhibition, the museum partnered with faculty in Studio Art and the Social Action and Justice Program to conduct research on image description, an accessibility strategy for sharing works of art with visitors who are blind or low vision.” That cross-disciplinary collaboration was funded by a university grant and involved student researchers. To deny that this exhibition was an academic project is a willful misrepresentation of fact.
Moreover, the reporting structure that enabled this misrepresentation is precisely the problem. Under the current arrangement, the museum director reports to the managing director of the Center for the Arts, who reports to the executive director for Advancement Administration, who reports to the vice president for Advancement and chief development officer, who reports to the executive vice president and chief operating officer. This chain of command places curatorial and academic decisions under administrative and fundraising oversight rather than academic governance. As a result, Advancement officers exercised authority over the Weisman Museum — an arrangement that would be unthinkable at any peer institution.
According to multiple student accounts, this structure contributed to a series of troubling events. Students witnessed senior administrators intervene directly in the exhibition, expressing visible discomfort with certain works and directing staff to remove or obscure elements. Elana Mann’s work included a short, factual video documenting sculptural installations, with captions noting historical events, including the phrases: “When Christine Blasey Ford testified at the Brett Kavanaugh hearings” and “After Roe v. Wade was overturned.” The video also featured the line “No aceptaremos un América racista [We won’t accept a racist America].” These are not partisan slogans but historical and moral statements about our collective civic life.
The censorship extended to work by the binational collective AMBOS (Art Made Between Opposite Sides), whose art engaged themes of care, migration and cross-border empathy. One of the censored pieces featured embroidered messages such as “Save the Children” and “Abolish ICE,” created collaboratively with over 240 participants from Los Angeles, San Diego and Tijuana. By censoring their work and preventing visitor interaction, the University undermined the project’s very purpose: fostering empathy, connection and civic engagement across borders.
Students witnessed unprofessional behavior and the disregard of professional boundaries. Altering or disabling an artist’s work without notification or consent violates the professional standards of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and breaches the exhibition agreement between artist and institution. For students to observe such conduct at the highest levels of administration is deeply troubling.
Several leading arts organizations — including the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG), the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) and the College Art Association (CAA) — establish that museums, including those at private universities, must uphold curatorial independence, academic freedom and ethical standards in the care, display and interpretation of artworks. These guidelines emphasize transparency, accountability and adherence to scholarly and professional expertise. Interfering with exhibitions or censoring content violates these best practices and erodes public trust.
Other university art museums have modeled a better way. The University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) led a coalition of university museums nationwide in a civic engagement campaign ahead of the 2024 election — fostering voter participation while remaining nonpartisan. UMMA demonstrates that academic museums can engage civic and social issues responsibly and educationally. Pepperdine could and should have followed this model.
I urge the University to take the following actions:
• Listen to students, faculty, and staff who have been impacted by this decision.
• Watch Elana Mann’s censored video Call to Arms 2015–2025 in its entirety.
• Engage with AMBOS and their community-based practice.
• Acknowledge publicly that censorship occurred and that it was inconsistent with Pepperdine’s mission and values.
• Reinstate the exhibition in full, with an accompanying statement affirming that artistic expression does not equate to institutional endorsement.
• Reform the Weisman’s governance structure so that it reports to Academic Affairs, aligning with best practices at peer institutions.
Finally, I encourage all arts alumni to write and express their concern. Our collective voices can help ensure that Pepperdine upholds its mission, respects its artists and educates students consistent with the values of free expression, social responsibility and critical thinking that are at the core of an Art History or Humanities education.
Censoring the arts harms us all. It diminishes our students, our faculty, our reputation and the moral imagination that higher education and Christian education exist to serve.
Let this be a moment for Pepperdine to lead with courage, humility and faith — to listen, to learn and to restore what has been lost.
Dr. Bryan C. Keene (’02)
Art Historian, Curator, Educator, Parent
Former Adjunct Professor, Pepperdine University
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Contact Bryan Keene via email: bryan.bryank@gmail.com
