London gallery LD50 faces protests over 2016 alt-right talks, director Lucia Diego defends free exploration of ideas

In February, London's art community on social media began discussing LD50 gallery's 2016 summer talk series focused on the 'alt-right,' featuring right-wing bloggers Peter Brimelow, Brett Stevens, Iben Thranholm, Mark Citadel, and philosopher Nick Land. A campaign to shut down the Hackney gallery emerged, alleging it hosted speakers promoting white supremacy and eugenics, leading to a protest march on February 25 attended by anti-fascist and Black Lives Matter activists. Director Lucia Diego clarified the talks were not a physical conference but included three Skype calls and two text-to-speech avatar presentations. She explained her interest stemmed from curiosity about the internet's role in right-wing politics during the Trump campaign, aiming to explore contemporary discourse beyond the art world. Criticism escalated after Diego expressed ambiguous views on Trump's Muslim ban in a Facebook post about MoMA's gallery rehang, prompting accusations from critics like Morgan Quaintance in Art Monthly. Diego argued art should facilitate free exploration of challenging ideas, but faced harassment, forcing her to close the gallery and relocate on police advice. Commentators linked the controversy to post-internet art's perceived apolitical cynicism, while Diego noted the internet's role in amplifying misanthropic views. The incident highlighted tensions over free speech, no-platforming policies, and social media's tendency to fuel rumor-based witch hunts in the art world.