East Tennessee State University art exhibit displays Nazi swastikas morphing into Christian crosses, features House Speaker Mike Johnson
An ETSU student told Campus Reform that he finds the exhibit artworks ‘disturbing’ and promotion of hate.
The Fletcher Exhibit hosted by East Tennessee State University features various works including swastikas, KKK members, Hitler, Donald Trump .
An art exhibit currently on display at East Tennessee State University features works that focus on “socially and politically engaged” themes, with many depicting extreme left-wing perspectives.
The Fletcher Exhibit, held in remembrance of Fletcher Dyer, a former student who passed away in 2009, invites artists worldwide to submit pieces that align with its global issues theme and is hosted at the ETSU Reece Museum.
Photographs of various art pieces obtained by Campus Reform display images of President-elect Donald Trump alongside swastikas, Hitler, and what appears to be Ku Klux Klan hoods.
One image features House Speaker Mike Johnson, with swastikas transforming into Christian crosses in its background. Another collage combines photos of Trump and various modern conservative figures with images of Hitler, swastikas, KKK members, and antisemitic slogans, including “Jews will not replace us.”
Other works include a painting of Trump’s former Senior Advisor Stephen Miller driving a “Project 2025” truck, accompanied by three members of the KKK. In another piece, an American flag is distorted to take the shape of a KKK hood.
Vice President of ETSU’s Turning Point USA chapter, Connor Vincent told Campus Reform the art featured in the exhibit was “disturbing” and is responsible for “promoting hate.”
Despite controversial views on Trump, Vincent argued that “it is wrong to display anyone as a Nazi or compare them to Hitler when they are far from it,” he said. Vincent said he finds it “disgusting” to see imagery “comparing the cross, which many people on campus hold very dearly to their way of life, to a swastika or symbol of hate.”
ETSU’s Reece Museum houses over 90 pieces of art during this year’s exhibit and although the exhibit has no official theme, co-director Carrie Dyer said she continues to “support artwork that advocates for democracy, voting rights, and confronts systemic racism.”
Part of the exhibit’s proceeds will also go towards developing a scholarship for an ETSU creative design student.
“[It] shows a lot about our administration here at ETSU, that they are allowing these pieces of hateful “artwork” to be raffled off and using the profits to pay for a student’s school,” Vincent added.
The Fletcher Exhibit will be held at ETSU from Sept 30 until December 6.
A spokeswoman for ETSU gave campus reform the following statement from its president, Brian Noland:
”I am aware of the concerns that have been raised about works selected to appear in this year’s FL3TCHER EXHIBIT on display in the Reece Museum. As a Christian and the son of a veteran, I can say that I personally find some of the views expressed in this year’s exhibit abhorrent. However, as the president of a public university, which is bound by the laws of the State of Tennessee as well as the U.S. Constitution, I must ensure that our university adheres to state and federal law. I am working to gain more information, and we will undertake an examination of the process through which we allow guest artists, speakers, and other third-party groups to present information on campus.”
Campus Reform has contacted ETSU, the Fletcher Exhibit, and Carrie Dyer for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
