To fully participate in society and to create art that calls power to account, the arts community needs to continue to identify, analyse and tackle the causes of self-censorship
CATEGORY: Art and the Law Commentary
Testing artistic freedom of expression in UK courts
There are few recent legal cases involving freedom of artistic expression in the UK.
Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti on Behzti
The playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti found herself in the eye of a storm that had profound effects on her personally and on theatre as a whole.
Charging for police protection of the arts
Policing is a core function of the state, and it has long been accepted that our taxes pay for police services. The role of the police naturally...
Between art and exploitation
In the United States, Australia and Britain a handful of art museums and galleries have come under scrutiny for displaying photographs of children.
Julia Farrington: Pre-emptive censorship by the police is a clear infringement of civil liberties
In 1972, Michael Scammell, first editor of Index on Censorship magazine wrote in the first edition – “Freedom of expression is not self-perpetuating, but needs to be maintained by the constant vigilance of those who care about it.” We obviously haven’t been very vigilant here in the UK
Index condemns removal of artwork from Passion for Freedom exhibition
We need to do more to ensure that police work with venues to promote freedom of expression, not stifle it
The arts, the law and freedom of speech
Police involvement in the cancellation this week of a National Youth Theatre production highlights again the difficult legal challenges for arts organisations putting on contentious work. Can a new set of guidelines help?