October 07, 2016
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts sits just north of City Hall on North Broad Street in Philadelphia.
A for-hire art model with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts has been fired and banned from campus after he seemingly filmed himself going on a hateful, racist and offensive rampage targeting a black woman on the university's campus and then posting it online.
The video, the original since taken down by Bryan Christopher Sawyer, was recorded by another Facebook user prior to its removal. It allegedly shows Sawyer calling a woman "gorilla" and saying, "You're inferior. You belong in a cage."
The incident originally was reported by Philadelphia Magazine.
The video, which may be offensive to readers, can be viewed below:
David R. Brigham, PAFA president, CEO and acting director of the museum, released a statement regarding the matter:
Yesterday an incident occurred on Lenfest Plaza in which a contracted model named Bryan Sawyer, who also works at other art schools around Philadelphia, verbally attacked a member of the community and members of PAFA’s staff. His remarks were racist and deeply offensive. Mr. Sawyer was immediately dismissed and permanently banned from PAFA’s campus. We will have additional security on duty today, should he attempt to return to campus. Additionally, the Philadelphia Police Department has been notified and they will be alerted should Mr. Sawyer try to return to PAFA.
PAFA is dedicated to educating and welcoming all individuals, on and off campus, with respect and dignity, as outlined in our policy:
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is committed to an environment that welcomes and encourages members of all diverse groups to apply. PAFA provides equal opportunity to all students and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or status as a veteran.
Moreover, PAFA’s Core Values include this statement on Diversity:
We are deeply committed to ethnic, cultural, gender, and artistic diversity in the student body, faculty, professional staff and volunteers, and actively seek to reflect the needs of diverse audiences in our programs and collections.
A screenshot shows that along with the video, Sawyer posted "I'm bad because I like it. I like the way it feels. No apologies."
