New York (CNN) -- A video that features ants crawling over a crucifix has gone on display at a New York gallery -- after it was banned from a Smithsonian museum -- raising questions over the boundaries of freedom of expression in a city known for its art. 
 
 The exhibit, entitled "A Fire in My Belly, A Work in Progress," was produced by David Wojnarowicz, who died in 1992 after suffering from AIDS. 
 
 It began screening Saturday at the New Museum, which is devoted exclusively to contemporary art, according to the museum website. 
 
 The complete video is over 30 minutes long and includes graphic sexual content -- including masturbation and full frontal nudity -- and has renewed opposition from religious groups offended by the depiction of Jesus covered by insects. 
 
 "I think that in the artistic community, directors, curators are tremendously insensitive to Christians, they respond by claiming victim status and I find it appalling," said Catholic League President Bill Donohue. "You can't make fun of the Holocaust, you can't make fun of black slavery..... and you can't even depict anything about Mohammed." 
 
 The video was recently removed from a Smithsonian exhibit after Donohue led protests against it and petitioned Congress to cut the institution's funding after it presented the video. 
 
 "The New Museum has always defended freedom of expression and continues to oppose censorship," said museum director 
 
 Lisa Phillips in a written statement. "We cannot afford to take hard won civil liberties for granted and need to remain vigilant and protect artistic freedom." 
 
 The move prompted dozens of art galleries to request the rights to show the video, said Wendy Olsoff, co-owner of the P.P.O.W. Gallery, which holds the rights to the video. 
 
 "I think it was a bad decision, poor judgment," she said. "Someone who didn't see it, called it in, put pressure and they pulled it. If you pull one piece how do you know another wouldn't be pulled. That's censorship." 
 
 The video is currently displayed in the museum's lobby and can be viewed free of charge. ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past seven months, as sexual misconduct allegations against Bill Cosby mounted, a top Smithsonian official met privately with museum directors across the sprawling complex on the National Mall to decide what to do about an exhibit showcasing Cosby's private art collection. 
 
 FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2014, file photo, quilts from the Bill and Camille Cosby collection hang at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art in Washington. The Smithsonian Institution stands firmly... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2014, file photo, members of the media tour the Bill and Camille Cosby collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art in Washington. The Smithsonian Institution... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2014, file photo, entertainer Bill Cosby gestures during an interview about the upcoming exhibit, "Conversations: African and African-American Artworks in Dialogue, " at the Smithsonian's... (Associated Press) 
 
 While many companies and universities were distancing themselves from the comedian, Smithsonian officials ultimately concluded the exhibit should continue. 
 
 "First and fundamentally, this is an art exhibit," Richard Kurin, the Smithsonian's undersecretary for art, history and culture told The Associated Press. "So it's not about the life and career of Bill Cosby. It's about the artists." 
 
 About a third of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art's 50th anniversary exhibition came from Bill and Camille Cosby's extensive African-American art collection, and two-thirds came from the museum's own collection. 
 
 Most of the Cosby collection had never before been seen by the public. It includes paintings by one-time slaves, pieces commissioned for the Cosbys, a piece by Cosby's daughter and quilts made in tribute to Cosby and his slain son, Ennis. The exhibit also includes images of Cosby and quotations from him. 
 
 Even without the assault allegations, the exhibit raised concerns. Some critics frown on showcasing a private collection in a prominent museum because it can enhance the artwork's market value. Also, Camille Cosby sits on the museum's board and initiated the loan, which raises questions about conflicts of interest. 
 
 Now the Smithsonian has revealed to The Associated Press that the Cosbys also funded the exhibition with a $716,000 gift, which virtually covers the entire cost. Museum industry guidelines call for museums to make public the source of funding when an art lender funds an exhibit. The Cosbys' financial donation was not disclosed in press materials issued by the Smithsonian to publicize the exhibit, nor mentioned on the museum's website. The exhibit opened in November. The Smithsonian said the information was available to anyone who specifically requested it. 
 
 Noah Kupferman, an art market expert at Shapiro Auctions who has taught about the economics of fine art, said such financial arrangements are not unprecedented, but museums must be transparent about them. 
 
 "It just raises a little eyebrow that a trustee of a museum is lending (her) own collection, funding part of the exhibition and the exhibition is highlighting works ... by less well-known artists whose work is considered by some to be undervalued," he said. "Repositioning these artists' works as suddenly important could have significant positive effect on their economic value." 
 
 The exhibit has drawn 150,000 visitors so far, according to the Smithsonian. 
 
 A promotion for the exhibit is prominently displayed on Cosby's website even as his reputation has collapsed in recent months amid accusations of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women. Many of the woman alleged that he drugged and raped them. 
 
 Cosby, who turns 78 on Sunday, has never been charged with a crime. He has denied some accusations, while declining to comment or respond to others. 
 
 Court documents obtained by The Associated Press revealed Cosby admitted under oath that he obtained quaaludes to give to women with whom he wanted to have sex. 
 
 In response to the admission, Walt Disney World removed a statue of Cosby. Bounce TV and Centric networks stopped re-running "The Cosby Show," and some civil rights leaders called for Cosby's star to be removed from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A sexual assault awareness group has petitioned the White House to revoke Cosby's Presidential Medal of Freedom. 
 
 Some art critics have called for the Smithsonian to stop showcasing Cosby's art collection. The museum director, Johnnetta Cole, declined to discuss the exhibit. 
 
 Cole, who is also the president of the Association of Art Museum Directors, is close with the Cosbys. At a preview for the exhibition, the Cosbys talked warmly of Cole and recalled how Camille Cosby wrote a $20 million check to Spelman College when Cole was president of the Atlanta school. In December, Spelman suspended its program funded by the Cosbys. 
 
 The Smithsonian defended the exhibit on its artistic merits. 
 
 "We certainly don't condone his behavior," Kurin said. "We're just as deeply disturbed and disappointed as I think everybody else. But it's not about Mr. Cosby. This is an art exhibit." 
 
 The Smithsonian is sensitive about changing exhibits. 
 
 In the past, it has removed some controversial pieces of exhibits under pressure, but "we've never taken an exhibit down," said Kurin, who has worked at the museum complex for decades. 
 
 In 2010, the Smithsonian was accused of censorship when it removed a video from the National Portrait Gallery exhibit about how sexual orientation and gender identity have shaped American art after complaints from a Catholic group and members of Congress. 
 
 An outside review concluded that unless there is an error, changes should not be made to an exhibit once it's opened without a full consultation with curators, museum directors and the Smithsonian's governing board. 
 
 For many museum experts and scholars, removing the Cosby exhibit would set a dangerous precedent. 
 
 "You'd be sort of stomping all over the curatorial integrity of what you've put up," said Jack Rasmussen, director of the American University Museum. "I think if museums had to investigate the morals of every lender, that would be kind of a new and very difficult situation. Really, it's about the art." 
 
 Museums have displayed privately held art collections for decades because they can complement a museum's own collection, said Martha Morris, assistant director of museum studies at George Washington University. 
 
 "The only thing that could possibly be a criticism is that once a private collection is on display in an art museum ... it begins to add to its status," Morris said. "That could potentially add to its value if the collector wanted to sell something, for example, or even give it away to a nonprofit for a tax benefit." 
 
 But an art loan could also lead to a donation of artwork to a museum, Morris said. 
 
 Smithsonian lawyers reviewed the Cosby loan and determined any increase in the artworks' value was a non-issue, in part because the Cosbys did not intend to sell the art, Kurin said. 
 
 ___ 
 
 National Museum of African Art: http://africa.si.edu/ 
 
 American Alliance of Museums Standards: http://www.aam-us.org/resources/ethics-standards-and-best-practices/education-and-interpretation 
 
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 Follow Brett Zongker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat. ||||| One of the world’s preeminent private collections of African American art will have its first public viewing later this year at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. “Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue” brings together artworks from two world-class collections: the National Museum of African Art and the Camille O. and William H. Cosby Jr. Collection. The exhibition, which opens at the museum Nov. 9 and remains on view through early 2016, is a major part of the museum’s 50th anniversary, celebrating its unique history and contributions toward furthering meaningful dialogue between Africa and the African diaspora. 
 
 In “Conversations,” 62 paintings, sculptures, mixed-media and textile works of art from the Cosby collection join some 100 traditional, modern and contemporary artworks from the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. 
 
 “Conversations” presents selected pieces from the Cosby collection, including works by Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Beauford Delaney, Loïs Mailou Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Keith Morrison, Faith Ringgold, Augusta Savage, Henry Ossawa Tanner and Alma Thomas. With the exception of one work of art, the Cosby collection has never been loaned or seen publicly and only rarely and selectively published. These and other works of African American art are placed in thematic dialogue with African traditional works of art, including a Kongo female figure with child from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a lidded bowl from Nigeria by the Yoruba master artist Olowe of Ise and a Nuna butterfly mask from Burkina Faso and with modern and contemporary works of art by artists, including Fodé Camara from Senegal, Godfried Donkor from Ghana and William Kentridge from South Africa. The exhibition and its accompanying publication are organized to explore intersecting ideas about history, creativity, power, identity and artistry in ways that resonate with people the world over. 
 
 Bill and Camille Cosby began acquiring the more than 300 African American paintings, prints, sculptures and drawings more than four decades ago, based on their personal tastes rather than on investment value. They strongly believe that African American families should seek to learn from and preserve their cultural history, which is told, in part, through works of art. 
 
 The unique experience of viewing exceptional African and African American art reinforces the Cosbys’ energizing message: We should all welcome the world of art into our lives—it belongs to us all if we only go out there and make it our own. Bill Cosby also introduced African American art to millions worldwide as a prominent feature of his landmark television series three decades ago. 
 
 “At the National Museum of African Art we are excited to show the world these treasured African American artworks for the first time ever,” said Johnnetta Betsch Cole, director of the museum. “The exhibition will encourage all of us to draw from the creativity that is Africa, to recognize the shared history that inextricably links Africa and the African diaspora and to seek the common threads that weave our stories together and over time as part of the human family.” 
 
 “It’s so important to show art by African American artists in this exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art,” said Bill Cosby. “To me, it’s a way for people to see what exists and to give voice to many of these artists who were silenced for so long, some of whom will speak no more.” 
 
 “Our mission can be summarized by Elizabeth Catlett, ‘Art must answer a question, or wake somebody up, or give a shove in the right direction,’” said Camille Cosby. 
 
 Exhibition Highlights 
 
 Rare late 18th- and early 19th-century portraits by the Baltimore-based African American artist Joshua Johnston 
 
 Explorations of black spirituality in the 1894 masterwork “The Thankful Poor” by Henry Ossawa Tanner and in the 1943 painting “Boy and the Candle” by South African artist Gerard Sekoto 
 
 The struggle for freedom and equality explored through the 1989 sculpture “Toussaint Louverture et la vieille esclave” by the Senegalese artist Ousmane Sow and the 1982 painting “Still Life: Souvenir No. IV” by the African American artist Eldzier Cortor 
 
 History, knowledge and memories explored through Cosby family quilts and African textile 
 
 A section on music and urban life that includes African musical instruments and African and African American modern and contemporary works 
 
 A gala celebration commemorating the museum’s 50th anniversary and the unveiling of the exhibition will take place Friday, Nov. 7, at the museum. For more information call (202) 633-4648. 
 
 About the Curators 
 
 The exhibition was developed and jointly curated by David C. Driskell, artist and noted scholar of the arts of Africa and the African diaspora; Adrienne L. Childs, independent scholar; Christine Mullen Kreamer, the museum’s deputy director and chief curator; and Bryna Freyer, curator at the museum. It was designed by MFM Design of Bethesda, Md. 
 
 Catalog 
 
 A fully illustrated exhibition catalog, developed by the museum, will be available in the museum store in November. It will include a foreword by Cole, a preface by and interview with Driskell, an interview essay with the Cosbys and a series of thematic essays jointly authored by Childs and Kreamer. 
 
 Educational Programs 
 
 Public programs will accompany the exhibition to engage the museum’s diverse audiences from K-12 to adult. In addition, the exhibition launches the museum’s pilot “Museum Ambassadors” program, which will train teen docents on the ideas and themes that inform the exhibition. 
 
 About the National Museum of African Art 
 
 The National Museum of African Art is the nation’s premier museum dedicated exclusively to the collection, conservation, study and exhibition of Africa’s traditional and contemporary arts. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission is free. The museum is located at 950 Independence Ave. S.W., near the Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange lines. For more information, call (202) 633-4600 or visit the National Museum of African Art’s website. For general Smithsonian information, call (202) 633-1000. 
 
 Note to Editors: Selected images from “Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue” from the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby Jr. may be downloaded by visiting the museum’s media website and clicking on “press room.” For media requests, contact Eddie Burke at (202) 633-4660 or burkee@si.edu or David Brokaw at (310) 614-4188 or db@brokawcompany.com. 
 
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 SI-368-2014
– A battle over an ant-covered crucifix has moved to New York City. The Smithsonian bowed to pressure by top Republicans John Boehner and Eric Cantor, and dumped an art exhibit video showing ants crawling over a crucifix. The "Fire in My Belly" exhibit, by artist David Wojnarowicz, who died of AIDS, is now on display at the New Museum. "I think that in the artistic community, directors, curators are tremendously insensitive to Christians," complained Catholic League President Bill Donohue. "You can't make fun of the Holocaust, you can't make fun of black slavery, and you can't even depict anything about Mohammed." The "New Museum has always defended freedom of expression and continues to oppose censorship," responded director Lisa Phillips. "We cannot afford to take hard won civil liberties for granted and need to remain vigilant and protect artistic freedom." Dozens of galleries and museums offered to display the video, which also includes nudity and masturbation, after it was axed by the Smithsonian, reports CNN.