>newground
In response to a recurring dialogue about a mural comes a bold new initiative, one which aims to put IUB on the artistic map as a center for vigorous, exciting, and sometimes controversial art by the multicultural artists of today.
The One for Diversity Fund was born out of the controversy over one of IU Bloomington’s most famous works of art—the Thomas Hart Benton murals, a series of panels originally commissioned for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair as the exhibit for the State of Indiana. Covering 2,600 square feet, they document the history of Indiana from prehistoric times until 1933. And in accordance with this history and with Benton’s desire to represent it truthfully, part of one panel depicts a cross-burning at a Ku Klux Klan rally.
After the World’s Fair, the murals sat in storage in a horse barn until 1937, when IU President Herman B Wells brought them to the Bloomington campus. Most of the panels are installed in the IU Auditorium, but several—including the controversial one—hang in Woodburn 100, a large lecture hall.
Therein lies the problem. When the artwork was first installed, Woodburn 100 was not a classroom. But many students who now use the room for classes and exams argue that the image creates a hostile learning environment: They are offended, hurt, angry, and distracted by the image of terror and racism in a situation where they need to focus on their work.
The Issues at Stake
Chancellor Sharon Brehm’s response to the protest and grievance filed by the Black Student Union in March 2002 was not to cover or remove the mural from the lecture hall. This, she believes, “would be morally wrong, because it would, in effect, do what Benton refused to do: that is, it would hide the shameful aspects of Indiana's past.” She also noted that, “trying to move the mural would probably damage it, perhaps destroy it, but the major issue here is a moral one, not one of cost or even of preservation.”
When the Black Student Union raised the issue of the mural, they did so in part, as its president Marshawn Wolley explains, “to promote discussion on the nature of IU’s commitment to diversity.” Likewise, Brehm maintains that the real issue at stake is “the status of diversity on campus.” Rather than covering or removing the mural, she says, “I propose to enlist the Benton mural in the cause of diversity. That's what it was meant to do in 1933 and that's what we need it to do now. The One for Diversity Fund,” she suggests, “gives us the opportunity to take the Benton mural controversy and turn it into a constructive, productive, and wonderful project that will help to create an artistically rich, inclusive community at Indiana University.”
With the One for Diversity Fund, Brehm seeks to “create more art, more diverse art, on the Bloomington campus—art that will celebrate, recognize, and memorialize the multicultural past and present of both Indiana and Indiana University, as well as the importance of diversity for education. We also need to strengthen our commitment to multicultural artists by commissioning their work, hiring them on our faculty, and inviting them to campus for exhibits and conferences.” Thus, the fund will be used to acquire, commission, and support the creation of multicultural art among student, faculty, and visiting artists.
The Campaign Gets Started
At the opening of the annual Arts Week campus/community celebration in January, Brehm formally announced the One for Diversity fundraising campaign. Its goal is ambitious—$500,000 over the next three years. But if, as is hoped, many individuals throughout the IU community are willing to show their support for diversity in the arts at IU by contributing to the fund, it should be possible to reach, or even exceed, this goal.
An early show of support among students bodes well for the hope that this project will attract a broad base of support. Vice Chancellor for Auxiliary Services and Programs Bruce Jacobs initiated a student offshoot of the campaign, “A Dollar for Diversity,” to which students have responded with great enthusiasm. Among these students, Jennifer Jacobs, a senior who will help lead the effort, explains that, “This campaign is important to me because it came directly out of student responses to the mural and will so directly affect student life on campus. Our support can show that as students we are committed to diversity, which will also set a strong precedent for similar efforts to make the campus more diverse and inclusive.”
As Brehm has said, “By calling the fund ‘One for Diversity,’ we emphasize that each of us on this campus must take responsibility for enhancing respect for and commitment to diversity. We build diversity one by one, step by step, person by person, and by contributions to the fund, both small and large.”
>Liz Rosdeitcher
Find out more about the fund. Read more about IU's commitment to diversity at the Office of Academic Support and Diversity. Learn more about the Benton murals.