An art exhibition in Kuwait has been shut down three hours after opening. A group of men entered the exhibition of a collection of paintings from Kuwaiti artist Shurooq Amin, and removed the paintings, claiming they had received a complaint over their content. Amin told Al-Qabas newspaper that those who closed down the show misinterpreted the meaning of the paintings to be disrespectful of the society’s tradition.
An art exhibition in Turkey has been cancelled by organisers after municipal officials were accused of censorship. Three photographs were removed from the exhibit titled “Aykırı” (Contrary) by officials from the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality after newspaper reports suggested some photographs contradicted religious and social values. Another report said that the exhibition insulted “religious values has alarmed the country.” Following the removal of the images by authorities, organisers İzmir Photography Art Association (IFOD) pulled the exhibition. Among the photos that caused controversy were two headscarfed women kissing each other, two men kissing each other, and a headscarfed woman wearing a bikini.
Officials at the state-run Cultural Centre of the Philippines shut an art exhibit on Tuesday after it provoked heated debate, threats and hate mail for combining Christian symbols with phallic objects. The decision by the centre’s board of directors came a day after former first lady and art patron Imelda Marcos joined politicians and Roman Catholic church leaders in denouncing the exhibit. The board said it made the decision because of “an increasing number of threats to persons and property,” including the artists and staff. It said the threats increased after critics vandalised an installation by removing a wooden penis from a poster depicting Jesus Christ.
The organiser of an exhibition of anti-death penalty posters has cancelled the event, because he feels it has been censored. Herve Matine said that councillors wanted to split up the collection, placing the more graphic images in a separate room with limited access. He was told that around a third of the posters, some of which depict hangings, would be moved because they could influence young people. DUP councillor Brian Kingston called the exhibition “disturbing”, but Matine stressed the importance of “public awareness”.