In Franklin Furnace Fights for First Amendment Rights (1990), the artist community addresses the political climate of the arts during the culture wars in the United States. The presenters confront the heightened censorship of queer, erotic, and feminist art, as well as conservative agendas projected onto the artistic landscape. This event was prompted by the recent closure of Franklin Furnace by the New York Fire Department for mistakenly being an illegal social club, despite the organization’s growing recognition as a preeminent avant-garde gallery. Following the closure, Franklin Furnace was demonized by Republican Senator Jesse Helms for presenting Karen Finley's A Woman's Life Isn't Worth Much (1990), which led to audits by the Internal Revenue Service and rescinded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Featured presenters include Spalding Gray, Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, Eric Bogosian, Cee Brown, Allen Ginsberg, Diane Torr, Paul McMahon, Nancy Spero, Leon Golub, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Annie Sprinkle, Frank Maya, Lynne Tillman, and Karen Finley.