Colombia’s cultural scene shifted on October 15, 2026, when the Ministry of Culture ordered the removal of dozens of artworks from the permanent collections of the National Museum in Bogotá. Visitors walking through the historic galleries first raised the alarm, noticing stripped hooks and bare patches of wall where pieces detailing modern social struggles, political violence, and marginalized communities once hung.
The purge targeted 47 out of 426 analyzed pieces—roughly 11 percent of the inventory—across two major permanent exhibition spaces: Sala 7, Memoria y Nación, and Sala 11, Hacer sociedad. Neither of these rooms originated under the current administration; their curation dates back to previous governments, with Memoria y Nación established in 2014 under Juan Manuel Santos and Hacer sociedad opening in 2019 during Iván Duque’s presidency. In Sala 7, 14 percent of the pieces were removed, while Sala 11 saw an 11 percent reduction. Julián Sterling, el secretario general del Ministerio, y personas de conservación y museografía llevaron a cabo el retiro de las obras.
A Sweep Focused on Modern Politics and Identity
The timing of the museum overhaul coincided precisely with an announcement by President Abelardo de la Espriella, who declared a sweeping “cultural counterrevolution” aimed at rooting out what he termed “wokeism” from state institutions. Speaking at the Museo Santa Clara, de la Espriella argued that national museums must not serve as instruments for ideological interpretations of history, asserting that institutions cannot be used to exhibit a political doctrine or ideological interpretation of history, and he specifically labeled the poster of Carlos Pizarro an “ode to terrorism.”
However, the cuts went far beyond objects associated with armed groups. Detailed tracking by La Silla Vacía revealed that the majority of what is no longer exhibited spoke about social groups and victims. By category, the purge removed 52 percent of pieces concerning LGBTI people, 28 percent of those depicting women, and 14 percent of those showing guerrillas, whereas indigenous peoples, elites, and pre-Hispanic artifacts remained completely untouched, and only 2 percent were removed from the independence founding fathers.
Among the casualties of the room reorganization were historical artifacts representing political assassinations and peace processes. Also removed was the Parker pen used to sign the initial peace agreement with the FARC, alongside the facsimile ballot from the 1990 student-led Seventh Paperwork initiative that paved the way for Colombia’s 1991 Constitution. Among the political items, Jaime Pardo Leal’s 1986 campaign flyer asking to vote for him on May 25 remained in its display case alongside a sign stating that the genocide against the Patriotic Union is a state crime, and a general photograph of the M-19 disarmament ceremony not distinguishing Pizarro also stayed in the room, while 13 pieces depicting Simón Bolívar, Francisco de Paula Santander, and Antonio Nariño remained intact alongside pieces by right-wing presidents such as Laureano Gómez and Luis Carlos Galán.
Entre los artículos retirados de la Sala 11—que contaba con un texto descriptivo que señalaba que la sala presentaba condiciones históricas de organización social y política, procesos de convivencia, resistencia y reivindicación, y confrontaciones decisivas en la construcción de la nación—se encontraban la bandera del orgullo perteneciente a la activista Elizabeth Castillo, la campaña publicitaria de 2006 enfocada en lesbianas para la marcha LGBT, un impreso sobre derechos reproductivos de la mujer de la Fundación Sí Mujer, una fotografía de Humberto Rincón Perfetti de la marcha de la ciudadanía plena LGBT por una Colombia incluyente, y ejemplares de la revista La Ventana Gay por Manuel Antonio Velandia y León Zuleta, el reconocido activista gay de Antioquia que fue asesinado en 1993.
Galería: historia política y grabados
Las dos más antiguas son de Carlos Correa. Siete años después, en Libertinaje y desorden, Correa cambió el lema del escudo nacional y lo rodeó de esqueletos y serpientes.
Censorship Debates and Legal Precedent
The swift dismantlement has reignited a fierce legal and political debate over state censorship in Colombia. It was noted that Article 1 of Law 397 of 1997, known as the General Law of Culture, explicitly prohibits the state from exercising censorship regarding the ideological and artistic form and content of cultural projects. Legal analysts and critics argue that removing artworks based on their political or social viewpoint directly contravenes this statute, regardless of official framing around heritage preservation.
When questioned about the removals and a complete inventory of the affected items, National Museum representatives declined to provide information, directing inquiries to the press office of the Ministry of Cultures, which has yet to issue a comprehensive public catalog. Meanwhile, curators reportedly played no role in the operation, having been sidelined while administrative officials entered the galleries accompanied by a minimal conservation and museography crew.
The selective pruning heavily impacted representations of Colombia’s recent decades. Works addressing recent armed conflict, sexual diversity, and feminist milestones bore the brunt of the administrative directive, leaving gaps in galleries explicitly designed to narrate the complex, contested making of modern Colombian society.
