Tony Radford’s blackface artworks have been a part of “The Truth of Freedom” exhibit at Newfields every year since the show started in 2021.
For the past four years, the Indianapolis artist has expressed his views on President Donald Trump or race in America through mixed-media collages connecting politics to Black history. His newest work in the series, “Blackface: Welcome to America V,” was accepted into this year’s show, but you won’t be able to see it.
Radford said the exhibit’s founder and curator, Angelita Hampton, called him shortly before the opening reception on June 5 and said Newfields’ leadership had decided the artwork was “too political.” He was invited to send a new piece, but he declined.
In “Welcome to America V,” the American flag serves as a backdrop for images of Black Moors, January 6 insurrectionists, enslaved people and civil rights activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
In the middle is a black shovel made to look like blackface with a photo of Trump on the handle.
Looking for an explanation, Radford went to the reception. There, he said he spoke with Belinda Tate, executive director of Newfields’ Indianapolis Museum of Art, and another member of the leadership team. He said they apologized and told him they didn’t want the artwork to upset funders.
Later, Hampton — a guest curator who is not on staff at Newfields — sent an email to the 12 artists featured in the show. Radford shared the email with Mirror Indy. In it, she wrote Radford’s piece had been removed because of “the inclusion of images and references to Trump.”
“It was not an act of racism, nor was it informed by racism. Was it censorship? Absolutely. Do I agree with or support the decision? I do not,” Hampton wrote.
It’s the type of decision that reflects what’s happening in the American art world more broadly, as institutions manage the potential retaliation that can come from showing artworks that negatively portray Trump.
Mirror Indy sent an email to Newfields’ communications team, requesting interviews with Tate and Hampton to understand more about why Radford’s piece was removed. Instead, Newfields’ spokesperson Mattie Wethington responded with a statement:
“Art can and should inspire dialogue. These conversations are essential to our mission. While Newfields determined it was unable to display this work of art, we will continue to champion diverse voices and provide a welcoming, unifying space for all.”
A growing national trend, now in Indianapolis
Walking through the IMA galleries, you’ll see several artworks that inspire dialogue, such as “Big White System,” a painting by Kyng Rhodes that draws connections between the police and the KKK, and the vase “The Expulsion of Colin Kaepernick and John Brown” by Robert Lugo.
But when it comes to depictions of Trump, artists and organizations fear censorship and backlash in the form of cuts to public and private funding support, canceled shows and angered audiences. A few examples:
- In 2019, an artwork by Gwenn Seemel, which showed the president wearing a hat with the words “Make America White Again,” was pulled from a New Jersey exhibit after viewers complained.
- In December 2024, artist Shylo’s portrait of Trump’s face, with the word “huge” written in neon orange over it, was pulled from the SCOPE Art Show at the Miami Beach art fair.
- In March 2025, Trump demanded a portrait of him be taken down from the Colorado state capital building, accusing the artist of “distorting” his image.
Additionally, dozens of institutions have canceled DEI-themed exhibitions that don’t comply with the Trump administration’s ideologies, including a March show at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C., that would have featured works by Afro-Latino, Caribbean and African American artists.
“We’re in a moment in time where institutions have to decide what is more important, getting a particular grant or living out the values for which they are organized,” according to Lee Rowland, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), which is based in New York.
“The purpose of a museum or an art institution is to support artistic freedom and diversity” — which means organizations shouldn’t be afraid to stand by the decisions of the curators who choose the artworks to be shown in exhibitions, Rowland said.
As an artist in Indianapolis for over 40 years, Radford has worked against the exclusion of Black artists in museums and galleries around the city. He is the founder and curator of the annual Meet the Artists showcase at Central Library. He’s also worked for the Indy Art Center and Arts for Learning, and formed the collective WE ARE Indy Arts.
“I was really looking forward to the piece being shown. It’s everything the title asked for,” Radford said. “I like to tell (Black) truths and what better place than Newfields, where a lot of people are going to see it — people that don’t look like me.”
Since 2021, over 60 Black artists have participated in “The Truth of Freedom” exhibit, which celebrates Juneteenth, according to Newfields.
This year’s theme, “Resilience Redefined,” was inspired by the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s. In the first-floor Waller Gallery, a sign states, “Each artist offers a deeply personal, socially conscious perspective that speaks to our shared longing for connection, dignity and freedom.”
To protest the treatment of Radford, another artist in the exhibit, Cierra Johnson, said she will not participate in the artist-led panel discussion from 3 to 4 p.m. June 19 at DeBoest Lecture Hall. The talk is part of Newfields’ Juneteenth celebration.
“To not allow him to show his work as intended just really offends me on a primal level,” Johnson told Mirror Indy. “One of the purposes of art is to give people a place to express themselves freely.”
Radford and Johnson told Mirror Indy that they aren’t blaming Hampton for the decision to remove the artwork. But, last week, Johnson posted a video to Instagram condemning Newfields.
If you go
The Truth of Freedom: Resilience Redefined
🗓️ Now through Aug. 24 during museum hours
📍 Waller Gallery at Newfields, 4000 Michigan Road
🎟️ Free
Artist Panel Discussion
🗓️ 3-4 p.m. Thursday, June 19
📍 DeBoest Lecture Hall at Newfields, 4000 Michigan Road
🎟️ Free
‘A slippery slope’
NCAC defines art censorship as the suppression of an artwork that carries a controversial viewpoint, or to avoid potential backlash because of a political moment.
At institutions like Newfields, curators on staff manage art collections, acquire and preserve artworks, help shape the stories around the artworks, and carefully choose what artworks to display in shows to the public.
Rowland said that when an artwork is pulled from a show “outside of that curatorial process,” then the NCAC believes it is censorship.
NCAC began its Arts and Culture Advocacy program over 25 years ago. They track national censorship trends and legally represent artists and institutions in censorship cases.
Rowland said censorship in arts and culture is about power. Not showing controversial art could lead to another form — self censorship. Out of fear or a perceived need to comply, institutions will stop accepting controversial art and artists will stop making it.
Rowland used a famous painting, the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, as an example of how ludicrous it would be if a museum removed a work of art that is universally recognized for its cultural value, just because it offended donors.
The same goes for modern times, where new works are displayed in new exhibitions to celebrate their cultural significance.
“Once you allow one person with money to eliminate a valuable piece of art that your experts have curated, the institution itself becomes vulnerable to that kind of politicking, and that is a slippery slope that’s not only bad for art, it’s bad for the institutions themselves,” she said.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
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