Merenda Cecelia, a Richmond-based artist and instructor, was recently dismissed from her teaching position at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) after reading a statement aloud in class. She describes the statement as a personal expression of artistic and academic freedom, which led to the termination of her contract just three days later. Cecelia reached out to us, simply hoping to share her message and petition. To gain further context, we sent her a few questions, and this was her response:
Full Statement from Merenda Cecelia:
“Thanks so much for your questions and interest! I knew that I was taking a risk by reading the letter. But I felt that making a statement was more important than my job, and that my job as an artist is to shine a light on the oppressive systems that others may not perceive. I was hired to teach a drawing class, but I can’t take the Art out of drawing, or I’d be doing a disservice to my students. I never claimed to be reflecting the values of the VMFA, only my own as an artist and teacher.
The Dean of Georgetown Law Center recently defended himself in an attack from the Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, stating: “The First Amendment . . . guarantees that the government cannot direct what Georgetown and its faculty teach and how to teach it. The Supreme Court has continually confirmed that among the freedoms central to a university’s First Amendment rights are its ability to determine, on academic grounds, who may teach, what to teach, and how to teach it.”
This happened on the first day of my Spring session, so essentially, I was telling my students why I didn’t want to spend too much time talking about politics (last few paragraphs of the letter). The VMFA champions artists such as Frida Kahlo, Kehinde Wiley, and many others who use art to bring awareness to issues of social justice. I often take my students into the museum to discuss art, so it seems almost absurd not to discuss these matters as we walk past works of art.”
Below is the letter she read in class, which you can also read and sign her petition HERE.
The Issue
This letter was read by an adjunct faculty instructor of nearly 20 years at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts during the last few minutes of a 2.5 hour adult drawing class on 2/4/25. The instructor is no longer under contract as of 2/7/25.
Dear Students,
In this class our primary goal is to develop drawing skills. In doing so you will become more sensitive to your environment – light, shadow, shapes, forms, perspective, proportions and colors. By this practice you will access a depth of self in which you become more aware of your own humanity. To see your own humanity is to recognize it in everyone around you. You will experience the world in a different way. Art is intrinsically personal and what is personal is political. We are deeply interconnected, whether we see it or not and something that hurts one of us hurts us all. Conversely the beauty created by one of us benefits us all. So you can see why it would be impossible not to address the current political crisis today in class.
As an employee of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts I am not permitted to speak on the subject while at work. But my first duty will always be to Art, and the furtherance of art in our community. As your art teacher I cannot say nothing. It’s just as I say about my own artistic practice: I can’t not do it. This may be the last time you see me because I am risking my position by addressing you this way. But I cannot say nothing because my duty is first to Art and she is a fierce yet gentle and fragile beast who is right now in the greatest peril. If you love art, you cannot love what is happening in our country. Art thrives in a free and open society.
Today, this very hour, people are being rounded up and shackled and removed from their homes and all across the country, people are losing their ability to choose their own life’s path. The window of who you can be and how you can express yourself is narrowing rapidly and that cannot sustain a thriving arts community. We are witnessing a dark time in our history as the oligarchy yesterday illegally took hold of our government and is systematically dismantling it. The government programs that are under attack are the same that have allowed Art to flourish and the evidence of our humanity to be revealed. If you love art, you cannot love what is happening in our country. Art thrives in a free and open society.
However, all of this is extremely distressing and one of the things we must do is take time to care for ourselves. So I would like to recognize the terrible times we are witnessing as our country slides into authoritarian leadership, but I would also like to recognize that people need quiet from this storm. So in the context of this class, let us focus on developing our skills and quieting our minds rather than the tempest that is raging outside, causing confusion and chaos by design.
By taking the time to expand your knowledge, skills and world view you are doing a great service to each other. I implore you to make this class your quiet act of resistance. But please know, as you walk within the walls here built to honor great artists and their work that you cannot love art and also abide by the terrors of systematic oppression.
In Service,
Your Art Teacher, Merenda Cecelia
Calling all artists, art teachers, art lovers, crafters, designers, collectors, makers, teaching artists, dancers, performers, musicians, art handlers, conservators, donors, curators, art historians, professors, gallery owners, studio owners, custodians, cafe workers, visitor services associates, volunteers, board members and all who care about art and freedom of expression please sign in support of this letter and a free and open society. Now is the time for bravery, not just for artists but for community leaders and institutions as well. Please sign to encourage institutions and organizations to take a public stand against oppression and in support of marginalized people in our communities. This petition will be shared with the board members of the VMFA and community leaders in Virginia.
Now is the time for bravery, not just for the artists but for community leaders, organizations, and institutions as well. As educational institutions, museums should seek to cultivate, and at the very least allow, civil discussions of values rather than suppress them. Silencing the discourse of teachers and staff signals a dangerous form of subversive partisanship in the name of neutrality.
¡Viva Frida, Viva Frida siempre!
This is not a solicitation for money, please no donations. Donations through Change.org do not go towards me or this petition. If you have interest in my work in the community please visit: linktr.ee/ceramic_hammer
“If sometimes our great artists have been the most critical of our society, it is because their sensitivity and concern for justice—qualities that must motivate any true artist—make them aware that our Nation falls short of its highest potential. I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the artist’s place. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow their vision wherever it takes them. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.” — President John F. Kennedy
“I must fight with all my strength so that the little positive things my health allows me to do might be directed toward helping the revolution—the only real reason for living.” — Frida Kahlo
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” — Audre Lorde
“One of the most vital ways we sustain ourselves is by building communities of resistance—places where we know we are not alone.” — bell hooks
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” — Elie Wiesel
Photo courtesy of Merenda Cecelia
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