Smithsonian Institution’s Governing Board Seeks Changes After Video Flap at Portrait Gallery

WASHINGTON (AP).- The Smithsonian Institution‘s governing board on Monday called for changes in how potentially objectionable exhibits are handled while also standing behind the head of the museum complex amid accusations of censorship. Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough came under fire after deciding a couple months ago to remove a gay artist’s video that depicted ants crawling on a crucifix in an exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. The scene angered some in Congress and a Catholic group that called it sacrilegious. The board said it must be prepared to handle museum disputes and guard freedom of curators in the face of political pressure from Congress or other groups. “We’re in the business of often doing exhibits that are about flash points in American history, flash points in American culture, and we have to accept that with

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