Our federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Troy for shutting down Iraqi American artist Wafaa Bilal's anti-war video installation at the Sanctuary in 2008 comes to a close with the recent announcement of a grant award from the National Endowment for the Arts, to be matched dollar for dollar by $50,000 from the city as agreed in our settlement of the case.  

If you're unfamiliar with the history, the Hudson Mohawk Independent Media Center produced a great short documentary about what happened.

On July 11, 2012 the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced 80 Our Town grant awards totaling $4.995 million reaching 44 states and the District of Columbia.  Media Alliance (which operates The Sanctuary for Independent Media) is one of the grantees and will receive $50,000 for a project called “Found Art in North Troy.”  The grant will be matched with $50,000 provided by the City of Troy.

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.  Check here for details.

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.

Iraqi–American digital artist Wafaa Bilal’s new book “Shoot an Iraqi: Life, Art and Resistance Under the Gun” tells the story of the Domestic Tension project that placed him 24/7 on the receiving end of a paintball gun accessible online to a global audience—and what really happened on his infamous visit to Troy NY last spring.  He's returning to Troy to talk about his experiences and the new book.

Missed the controversy last year?  See the photos and watch the oniine documentary!

Our press release:

"Virtual Jihadi" artist returns to Capital Region with new book;
 Wafaa Bilal braves fear of RPI/Troy censorship to speak again!

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.