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Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator’s Faculty Research Associate and Resident Artist, Dimitry Chamy, presents a provocative collection in the Washington Gallery, confronting the escalating issue of banned books and censorship. Chamy’s work is a bold response to the suppression of literature and free expression, using art to defy the silencing of voices and ideas.

The Unreading Room by Dimitry Saïd Chamy explores the pleasure and danger of reading in an age of book bans. For Chamy, books and education hold a special place. One of his ancestors, Edmond Laforest, a poet and teacher of French and mathematics, tied a Larousse Dictionary around his neck and threw himself off a bridge in Jeremie in political protest of the US invasion of Haïti. His grandmother was a rebel who threw an inkpot at a teacher who struck her in class and went on to become a teacher herself. Chamy loved reading growing up but struggled to alleviate his isolation and fear as a queer kid in pre-internet Port-au-Prince during the AIDS crisis without access to any affirming queer stories or reading materials. Later, as an artist, designer of books, and educator, Chamy fell in love with the printed page again as a material artifact he could create.

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Diverse group of FIU students put their paws up

Statement of Free Expression

FIU endorses the Florida Board of Governors' Statement of Free Expression to support and encourage full and open discourse and the robust exchange of ideas and perspectives on our campuses. In addition to supporting this legal right, we view this as an integral part of our ability to deliver a high-quality academic experience for our students, engage in meaningful and productive research, and provide valuable public service. This includes fostering civil and open dialogue in support of critical thinking in and out of the classroom, including events hosted by the university.