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Artist asks Dare County to reverse decision excluding a nude figure drawing from Silver Arts show
Summary
Artist Courtney Gallup told commissioners she was told by a county parks staffer that her nude figure drawing could not be displayed at a county facility. Commissioners said they would review and, later in closed session, affirmed the board’s view that the piece qualifies as protected speech and should be shown.
Artist Courtney Gallup told the Dare County Board on April 7 that a Parks and Recreation employee had barred a nude figure drawing from hanging in a Silver Arts visual competition because it might be "objectionable." Gallup said the piece is non‑suggestive and artistic and that exclusion without a written county policy stigmatizes the work and disadvantages it in the competition.
"There is no policy that I'm aware of that has ever caused any piece of art to be excluded from the Silver Games competition," Gallup told the commissioners, asking them to permit the work to be displayed and judged with the other entries.
Commission response: commissioners asked staff to review the matter. In a subsequent closed session the board discussed the issue with counsel; the county manager later told the meeting the consensus was that the artwork constitutes protected speech and the piece should be allowed to hang with other entries.
What the county said: staff will notify the artist and proceed with displaying the work; the county manager read legal guidance in closed session supporting the outcome.
Why it matters: the exchange raised questions about where county properties host artwork, whether employees may unilaterally exclude content without written policy and how the county will handle future disputes over display content.
