The Archive of Controversy in the Arts is a web-based repository that presents material on controversies prompted by works of art or represented through the work of an artist. The Archive can be used by many audiences -- scholars, journalists, students, artists, policy -- makers, and the general public -- to explore the interaction between the arts and controversy: the many dimensions of how the arts spark controversy, how a controversy is rendered in art, and how controversies impact the arts.

Controversy conjures the idea of issues, conflicts, dilemmas, and sticking points that involve multiple perspectives drawn across multiple interests. Unlike debate, where the parties and perspectives are often tidily sorted out prior to their engagement with one another, controversies often challenge the analyst to identity the stakeholders as well as the issues that confront them. We have found art controversies of special interest for this reason. They seem both immediate and visceral and, at the same time, mediated by deeply felt historical and culture-bound ideas of beauty, value, and morals.