Censorship

Paris’s most famous art school at centre of censorship row after book removes all mention of #MeToo

Publication on École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts was reprinted without text on former director Jean-Marc Bustamante

Art marketanalysis

Is the art trade choosing to ignore a wider world in crisis?

Amid threats to freedom, career moves and censorship become hard to tell apart

Russian authorities interrogate and detain artists on eve of presidential election

The homes and studios of more than 30 artists in at least seven cities across the country have been raided

New documentary traces Iranian artist Nickzad Nodjoumi’s quest to retrieve his paintings decades after the Islamic Revolution

Directed by the artist’s daughter and her husband, “A Revolution on Canvas” is a heart-breaking family drama disguised as a political thriller

Collectors withdraw works from Barbican show after centre pulls its support for talk on Israel-Hamas war

Quilts by Loretta Pettway have been removed from a major textile survey at the London institution over accusations of “censorship and repression”

Arts Council England rows back on 'reputational risk' guidelines

The public body “will not remove or refuse funding” over political work, it has confirmed following backlash

Censorshipcomment

From shadow bans to privacy laws: how the internet has become less free—by stealth

The chilling of artistic freedom is impacting artists and those they connect with

Canaries in the coal mine: is the art world facing a rising tide of censorship?

The death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny last month, after years of confinement in a Siberian jail, and subsequent quelling of protest, emphasised the flourishing of censorship across a globe riven by geopolitical crises, in a year when democracy is put to the test in more than 70 countries. With the threat of electoral misinformation being boosted by AI-generated content and social media algorithms, artists have been warning of new kinds of censorship. The effect is being felt in real life, online and in social media

Spainnews

Uproar after series of high-profile sackings at Spanish museums

Regional governments accused of censorship and political interference after controversial axing of five museum directors in two months

‘Shame on those that silence artists’: Shahzia Sikander speaks out after her opening in Texas is cancelled

The University of Houston seems to have caved to the threats of a local anti-abortion group

Russian artist charged with showing ‘extremist imagery’ faces four years in prison

In a recent hearing the artist, Vasily Slonov, likened his treatment to that of Aleksei Navalny, the opposition leader who died on 16 February

'It's censorship': Arts Council England under fire over new policy deterring 'overtly political statements'

Update to guidelines warns partner organisations that funding arrangements could be jeopardised by "reputational risk"

Is censorship on the rise in the West?

Plus, Frank Auerbach at the Courtauld and an Indian painting from Howard Hodgkin’s collection

Ai Weiwei criticises ‘fragile’ state of Western democracy following Sky News interview

The dissident artist argues that restrictions manifest more subtly in Europe and the US

US museum under fire for cancelling Palestinian artist’s retrospective

The Eskenazi Museum of Art of the Indiana University in Bloomington cited “safety concerns” when it abruptly cancelled Samia Halaby’s show

India's first family of art looks back over 60 years of history and politics

Anniversary exhibition at Mumbai's oldest gallery, Chemould Prescott Road, dusted off the archives, featuring artists such as Mithu Sen and Atul Dodiya

Arnolfini censorship row deepens as artists refuse to work with the Bristol institution

The dispute was sparked by a decision to cancel Palestine Film Festival events

Renaissance nude painting row at French school sparks teacher walkout

Some students were reportedly “disturbed” by Giuseppe Cesari work which depicts bathing nymphs

Ron DeSantis’s ‘war on woke’ goes to college

The Florida governor’s recent education reforms are damaging arts and humanities programmes across the state—but educators and students are fighting back

Sky's the limit in public art project in solidarity with Miami's drag queens

As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis cracks down on their public visibility, local celebrities from Fantasia Royale Gaga to Persephone Von Lips are celebrated in banner form above Española Way

Pillar of Shame sculpture at centre of Hong Kong controversy included in London show

A new smaller version of Jens Galschiøt’s work is part of a survey focused on human rights in Asia

Bristol's Arnolfini gallery faces backlash after cancelling Palestine film events

Film screening and poetry night were pulled over concerns they may be seen as "political activity"

Fears for artistic expression in Russia as ministry files motion to classify 'the international LGBT public movement' as 'extremist'

Members of the country's cultural sector are among those concerned about harsh punishments for perceived violations should the declaration be signed off

Russian artist Sasha Skochilenko jailed for anti-war protest

Skochilenko was charged for replacing supermarket price labels with pieces of information about the destruction of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol

Lisson Gallery puts Ai Weiwei London show on hold over Israel-Hamas war tweet

The artist-activist defends free speech in a lengthy response, but says that the gallery’s decision is “for his own well-being”

Russian prosecutors seek eight-year prison sentence for artist who installed anti-war messages in grocery store

The St Petersburg artist Sasha Skochilenko was arrested in April 2022 for replacing a store's price labels with information about the war in Ukraine

Organisers of billboard art project allege their show in Texas on prison reform was censored

Companies that manage advertising spaces in Houston reportedly called off the project with little warning or explanation

Booksreview

The bumpy road to acceptance of China's LGBTQ+ artists is explored in a new anthology

Against a backdrop of growing censorship, a book charting the struggle of the community to gain mainstream recognition offers some hope

World Press Photo ‘shocked’ at ousting of Hungarian National Museum director in LGBTQ+ exhibition row

Images of a care home in Manila by Hannah Reyes Morales fell foul of right-wing lawmakers

Following protests, Toronto museum reinstates Palestinian artists’ work in exhibition on 'Death'

The Royal Ontario Museum had edited wall text and cropped an image of a painting, which the artist says amounted to “censorship and alteration”