Virtual Jihadi
'Virtual Jihadi' lawsuit settled
Our civil rights case against the City of Troy and former Public Works Commissioner Robert Mirch for shutting down Iraqi-American artist Wafaa Bilal's "Virtual Jihadi" anti-war installation in 2008 has been settled. Details will be issued shortly in a joint press release with the City of Troy.
The lawsuit, brought on our behalf by the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Albany law firm of O'Connell and Aronowitz, was three days from a trial by jury in Federal court.
Hudson Mohawk Indymedia produced a definitive account of the whirlwind of events surrounding Wafaa Bilal's controversial art exhibit:
"Art ≠ Terrorism" goes beyond the sound bites to find out what happened when an Iraqi artist came to Troy, NY only to be censored--not once, but twice.
First, Wafaa Bilal's exhibit was shuttered by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute after his anti-war artwork was attacked by Campus Republicans.
When the work was given refuge by The Sanctuary for Independent Media, the City of Troy responded by closing us down. A massive outpouring of community support enabled us to re-open six weeks later.
Wafaa Bilal's "Virtual Jihadi"
On Monday, March 10, Iraq-born video artist Wafaa Bilal was on hand for a reception at 6 PM followed at 7 PM by a presentation about his installation "Virtual Jihadi" which was to have been displayed at The Sanctuary for Independent Media.
The installation was scheduled to be open to the public through Friday, March 15 from noon to 2 PM as well as before and after regularly scheduled events through April 4, 2008.
The exhibit was shut down--along with The Sanctuary for Independent Media itself--on trumped-up code violation charges by City of Troy officials on the morning of Tuesday, March 11, just minutes before the show was to open to the public. The Sanctuary remained closed until a grand re-opening celebration on April 26 capped off two months of fundraising and renovations.
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