If artworks can be speech acts, or at least, express meanings with forces such as assertion and protest, then presumably they can be harmful acts, like those we find in straightforward hate speech; racist, misogynistic, or homophobic language, for example. Recognising artistic speech reveals a distinctive potential harm towards marginalized groups.  So how should we manage it? If artworks can be a form of hate speech, then this illuminates a significant aspect of artistic protest and curatorial activism, which can function as an alternative to outright censorship. The paper explores artistic and curatorial strategies which function as ‘counterspeech’ to disarm sexist and racist artworks. In particular, I identify ‘aesthetic spotlighting’ and ‘aesthetic blocking’, which undo a work’s harmful content via distinctively aesthetic means.