Category : Art and the Law Commentary
Julia Farrington: Tackling self-censorship in the arts community
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 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 shifts with changes in culture and the law, but the current position is that the police, as a public authority, have an obligation to ensure law and order […]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 
