Emma Shapiro (b1988 Virginia USA) is an American artist, writer, and activist based in Valencia, Spain. She is Editor-At-Large for the Don’t Delete Art campaign and the founder of the international art project and movement Exposure Therapy.
Her work includes the use of video, collage, performance, and photography, while primarily utilizing her own body and image. Through her use of layered video projection, self portraiture, and repeated encounters with her own image, Emma deconstructs and questions the meaning of our bodies, how we know them, and what they could be.
Regular censorship of her artwork online and IRL has driven Emma to dedicate herself to advocacy for freedom of expression. Through her writing, her position with the Don’t Delete Art campaign, lectures, and panels, Emma shines a light on the issue of art censorship online and offline.
She holds a degree from The Rhode Island School of Design and has received multiple fellowships, awards, and residency opportunities to pursue her artistic and activist work.
Demand an End to Art Censorship online:
Sign the Don’t Delete Art manifesto!
COMING UP!
Workshop: THE PANOPTICON EFFECT: A DISCUSSION ON ARTISTIC SELF-CENSORSHIP Nov 20 with BONFIRE
RightsCon 2025 Lighting Talk “Don’t delete art: why content moderation must account for artistic context” Register now!
READ:
Featured artist/activist in the Feminist Zine commissioned by WeTransfer! “Free The Nipple. For All”
WATCH/LISTEN:
Danger Art/ Endangered Artists panel, “Is Social Media Beyond Our Control?”, NYC Independent Art Fair May 2024 — watch the panel
Decentraland Wellness Week, Keynote Panel “Healthier Relationships with Social Media & Online Platforms”
Woodhull Freedom Foundation “We Removed Your Post!” Panel
“Navigating Sensitive Content” Panel Discussion: a conversation at Unit London about art censorship and social media with Gareth Harris (The Art Newspaper), Farah Nayeri (NYT), and myself.