Since late January 2025, a decree nicknamed the “Abrogation Woke” has sought to make it impossible for publicly funded academic research to use words such as “climate,” “woman,” “biodiversity,” “inclusion,” “LGBT,” and others.

Dubbed the “Big Delete,” numerous pages on the White House and U.S. State Department websites now display “Error 404” in place of content dedicated to climate change and/or inclusion policies. In total, 28 words have been banned from administrative forms in the United States, with an additional 120 words slated for removal from websites and from projects supported by the National Science Foundation (an independent government agency whose mission is to support research).

As part of the seminar We Woke Up Without Even the Words to Cry Out: Art and Language Against the Big Delete, organized by the TEAMeD/AIAC research group at Université Paris VIII, the Palais de Tokyo will host a roundtable discussion orchestrated by American art critic and curator Saul Ostrow. 

Entitled On The Great Deletion, the event will bring together around thirty participants from diverse backgrounds, following a protocol defined by Saul Ostrow and CPI (Critical Practices, Inc.).

Proposed by the TEAMeD research group. With the support of the ArTeC Graduate School and the AIAC research laboratory (Arts of Images and Contemporary Art), Paris 8 University.

• The event will take place in Room 37
• The conversation will be in French after an introduction in English
• Access upon presentation of a valid exhibition ticket