Censorship

Pop-up museum commemorating Tiananmen Square Massacre opens in New York

A similar institution in Hong Kong was forcibly shuttered in 2021 following the passage of the city’s restrictive security law

Beijinganalysis

'The economy is bad, the mood is worse': Gallery Weekend Beijing returns under renewed fears of censorship

This is the event's first edition since China lifted its Covid restrictions

Public artanalysis

Hong Kong: artists carve out a space for themselves in public

From giant rubber ducks to thinly veiled protest art, outdoor sculpture is having a moment in the city

Michelangelo's David blocked from Scottish ad campaign

Glasgow's Barolo Restaurant will run posters with the sculpture visible only from the waist up after artwork with the masterpiece in full-view was rejected

Are we more prudish about Michelangelo’s David in 2023 than we were in 1564?

The ousting of a Tallahassee principal after school children were shown images of the famous Renaissance sculpture reveals a rather zealous mindset

Germany’s museums buy back ‘degenerate’ artworks purged by the Nazis

A painting by Egon Schiele is among those bought back by the institutions from where they were confiscated

President Macron stands up for artists after vandalism of controversial Miriam Cahn painting

French leader says defacing the work, which will remain on show at the Palais de Tokyo, is "attack on values"

Unesco seeks to improve artists’ protection from censorship and violence

New report finds that, unlike journalists, artists are often "in the dark" about the organisations they can turn to when their rights are threatened

Pillar of Shame sculpture seized by police in Hong Kong

Work commemorating Tiananmen Square tragedy is confiscated as part of "incitement to subversion" case

Leaderscomment

Now is the time to honour not censor Russia’s dissident artists

The director of the Zimmerli Art Museum, which is home to the world's foremost collection of Soviet nonconformist art, says recent calls to censor all Russian art in light of the war in Ukraine oversimplify the issue

Censorshipcomment

An Idaho college removed my abortion-related art, strengthening my resolve to tell these stories

Last month, citing a state law prohibiting the use of public funds for abortion, a college removed my works and those of two other artists from a show about healthcare

Censorshipcomment

'The nipple has not been freed! The art world must continue to fight Meta over gender discrimination'

Social media giant has been taken to task for its notorious “female nipple” guideline, but the battle for creatives' freedom of expression is not yet over

‘Glad to see they are scared’: Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova added to Russia’s wanted list for criminals

A performance in which she burns an effigy of Vladimir Putin, and an NFT of a vagina-shaped Virgin Mary are thought to be behind new charges

Hong Kong is back with bang: Art Basel returns and M+ museum makes waves

Plus, art censorship online and Brenda L. Croft's photos of fellow First Nations Australian women

Hosted by Ben Luke and Aimee Dawson. With guest speaker Gareth Harris. Produced by David Clack and Julia Michalska
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Citing Idaho’s anti-abortion law, college censors art exhibition on health care

Three works addressing abortion were removed from the exhibition at Lewis-Clark State College

Diaryblog

Crunch time: the day Roald Dahl spoke to Francis Bacon about the threat of censorship

“There must be no changes to an artist’s original work when he is dead for any reason whatsoever,” Bacon said

Afghan universities and art centres ban female students as Taliban clamps down

A future generation of artists could be lost as well as the livelihoods of their teachers

Postponement of exhibition on Russian architecture school sparks accusations of ‘censorship and historical erasure’

New York’s Cooper Union postponed an exhibition on Vkhutemas, a school that operated in Moscow for ten years in the early 20th century before Stalin shut it down

Satirical portrayals of president spark censorship row in South Korea

Shutdown of the exhibition "Goodbye in Seoul" is the latest in a series of censorship controversies around negative images of Yoon Suk-yeol

Prophet Muhammad image controversy rages on as US university staff demand president's resignation

After a professor was dismissed for showing the depictions, faculty have voted that Fayneese Miller should step down over mishandling the issue

Russian artist flees LGBTQ crackdown

Yulia Tsvetkova was acquitted on charges of distributing gay ‘pornography’ but strict new laws have forced her to leave the country

Professor who was controversially fired for 'Islamophobia' after showing depictions of Prophet Muhammad is named

US university's decision to dismiss employee for displaying the 14th- and 16th-century works has been described as an "egregious violation" of academic freedom

Digital Ageanalysis

New online safety laws aim to protect children—but will they harm artists?

As the UK’s troubled Online Safety Bill finally looks set to become law, there are still concerns about whether it will get the balance between online safety and censorship right

Chinanews

As 2023 dawns, the blank A4 sheet—brandished by protestors in China—is a potent political and artistic symbol

The white-paper revolution echoes art history, recalling Robert Ryman and the Philippines-based artist Kiri Dalena

The artist Dorothy Iannone, hailed as a ‘freedom fighter’, dies aged 89

She confronted censorship issues including a legal battle over Henry Miller novel

Are you being 'shadowbanned'? Instagram announces new transparency tools that reveal if posts go against guidelines

New functions show if content goes against the social media platform's Recommendation Guidelines that it uses to decide what should be promoted and searchable

Mediaanalysis

‘Artists have a lot in common with sex workers’: OnlyFans becoming popular platform for artists censored elsewhere

Censorship by more mainstream social media platforms has artists turning to OnlyFans to promote their work

Is it time to #Twexit? How Elon Musk’s Twitter shake-up has divided creatives

With the platform's new owner firing moderators, some artists are hoping for an end to censorship while others fear discrimination

Censorshipfeature

Losing the battle: Cuba’s dissident artists find ways around censorship despite government crackdown

Since the passage of the country’s repressive Decree 349, the state has gone to great lengths to silence critical voices—but artists refuse to be silenced

Arts group takes on Polish government over political interference in cultural institutions

US-based Artistic Freedom Initiative will challenge in EU court the Polish government, saying it is “suppressing free and open artistic expression”