NGLTF Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Peri Jude Radecic Shannon Thomas Kennedy, (202) 332-6483 Ron.DeVrou@f70.n109.z1.fidonet.org NGLTF STAFFERS MEET WITH NEW ACTING NEA CHAIR Washington, D.C., May 14, 1992....Staff members of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force met with the new acting chair of the National Endowment for the Arts yesterday in a meeting that was both cordial and challenging. Acting chair Anne-Imelda Radice stated solidly that she is "not homophobic," but reaffirmed that she will not fund sexually-explicit art. In addition to Radice, other NEA staffers attending the one-hour meeting included Randy McAusland, deputy chair for programs, and Bobbi Dunn, the Congressional liaison. NGLTF Deputy Director of Public Policy Peri Jude Radecic and Legislative Assistant Shannon Thomas Kennedy represented NGLTF at the meeting. Radice agreed to the meeting after only two weeks on the job, following a request by NGLTF on April 27. Former NEA chair John Frohnmayer met with NGLTF one year after a request was formally made. Conservative lawmakers and right wing organizations have been attacking the NEA for several years during the Congressional appropriations process, especially decrying NEA funding of homoerotic art. Frohnmayer was forced to resign in March after presidential candidate Pat Buchanan used NEA grants to gay artists as an attack against President George Bush. As Senior Deputy Chair of the NEA under Frohnmayer, Radice was considered by many artists to be responsible for flagging gay and lesbian art and urging that those projects be de-funded. Gay and lesbian artists and many arts institutions voiced apprehension when Radice took the helm of the organization this month. Those concerns were confirmed this week when Radice rejected two grants for projects that had been approved by both a peer review panel and a council appointed by the President. Each of the projects -- "Corporal Politics" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and "Anonymity and Identity" at the Virginia Commonwealth University -- contains some sexually-explicit material. NGLTF's Radecic and Kennedy communicated to Radice the perceptions of the arts community about the changes occurring at the NEA including: artists now feel they must self-censor in order to get grants; the rules for obtaining grants have changed but are ambiguous; the NEA under Radice will not fund gay and lesbian artists and organizations; and gay and lesbian artists will be sacrificed in order to "save" the NEA. Kennedy and Radecic also expressed concern that conservative leaders who oppose funding gay and lesbian artists, such as Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association, have publicly declared their support for Radice. -- more -- Radice stated flatly, "I am not homophobic" and went on to say that she is "hurt" when she is accused of homophobia. She noted that the two projects she recently rejected did not include homoerotic images, but images of sexuality in general. She will not target specific individuals or organizations, she said, but acknowledged that she will draw lines around sexual content. Exactly where those lines are, however, remain unclear. "She may not be homophobic, but she is sex-phobic," said Kennedy. "And because the oppression gay and lesbian people face is based on our sexuality, we will continue to be the brunt of most of the new restrictions." Radice defended her guidelines as a "pragmatic" protection for the survival of the NEA, saying that the mood of the country and Congress will not allow public money to be spent on sexually-explicit art. Instead, art funded by the NEA must appeal to a "broader base." "Gay and lesbian people are a part of that broader base," Kennedy counters. "We pay taxes as well and want to see our lives represented in publicly-funded art." According to Kennedy, Radice also said her guidelines will encourage art that will allow people to get the "right" view of the gay and lesbian community, not the stereotypic view. Radice went on to ask Kennedy whether all gay and lesbian art is homoerotic or sexually-explicit. "No, but our sexuality is a part of our lives and community," Kennedy retorted. "And just as viable and important as any other aspect." Radice and her staffers assured NGLTF that they would not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and that the door is open for future meetings between gay and lesbian leaders and Radice and her staff. Kennedy expressed appreciation for the meeting and for Radice's commitment to not discriminate. However, the "sexually-explicit" guidelines still pose a heavy burden on the gay and lesbian community and are currently ambiguous, she said. And NGLTF continues to be concerned that gay and lesbian artists will need to self-censor or endure a convoluted review process in order to obtain funding from the NEA. Members of the gay and lesbian community, those opposed to government censorship and supporters of the art community are encouraged to write to Radice at the NEA, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20506. Urge Radice to fund gay and lesbian arts, support the peer review process established by the NEA and not reject funds for gay and lesbian-specific art in order to "save" the NEA. 1734 Fourteenth Street, NW-Washington, DC 20009-4309-(202) 332-6483 Ron.DeVrou@f70.n109.z1.fidonet.org ###