In the wake of the controversy surrounding Creative Australia’s withdrawal of support for its chosen artists for the Venice Biennale, the board and senior leadership are under increasing pressure to resign, defending themselves against claims of artistic censorship.
The debacle is only the latest in an uncomfortable string of Australian artists clashing with artistic administrators and leadership over politics. In recent years, almost all of these instances have revolved around the Israel and Palestinian conflict. As Australian culture grapples with the role of art in contemporary political debate, resignations and cancellations are becoming the norm.
Sydney Writers Festival chair resigns amid Middle East programming
Last week, Sydney Writers’ Festival Chair Kathy Shand resigned shortly before the Festival unveiled its 2025 programming. Shand cited concerns with how the Festival managed sensitive topics, such as the Israel-Palestine conflict. Shand is also a Board member of the Sydney Jewish Museum and former co-publisher of Australian Jewish News.
“Freedom of expression cannot and should not be used as a justification to accept language and conversations that compromise the Festival as a safe and inclusive space for all audiences,” she wrote in a statement.
It’s a bizarre echo of a similar resignation that occurred at Melbourne Writers Festival in 2024 when the Deputy Chair Dr Leslie Reti resigned over a poetry session involving Aboriginal and Palestinian poets, which he described as “historically untrue and deeply offensive”. The Festival program described the event thus: “Aboriginal and Palestinian solidarity has a long history, a relationship that is more vital than ever in the movement to resist colonialism and speak out against atrocities.”
National Gallery of Australia facing censorship accusations
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) was accused of censorship last week after covering up symbols of Palestinian solidarity. Two Palestinian flags that featured as part of a large wall tapestry were covered by white fabric. The exhibition’s curator, founder of the Pacific Indigenous art collective SaVĀge K’lub, Rosanna Raymond said they were censored by NGA. Raymond resisted the move, but then reluctantly agreed.
“Consideration was given to past protest activity and vandalism at the National Gallery, the volatility of the environment and reported violence, vandalism and threats in Canberra, and across Australia at the time,” said the NGA. “The National Gallery assessed the risks and determined what we believed was the most appropriate action, in consultation with curator Rosanna Raymond MNZM and the SaVĀge K’lub artists.”
“Covering elements of an artwork not only risks undermining the integrity of the artists’ message, but also raises serious concerns about the pressures institutions face in balancing artistic freedom with external influences,” said National Association for the Visual Arts Executive Director, Penelope Benton. “Attempts to suppress or delegitimise freedom of expression – particularly within major cultural institutions – set a dangerous precedent. When artists and their works are censored, it creates an environment where difficult topics are avoided, weakening the ability of the arts to spark important conversations and challenge perspectives.”
Sydney Theatre Company censors political protest, then backflips
In November 2023, Sydney Theatre Company came under fire. A month after Hamas led an attack on Israel that triggered the contemporary bloodshed between Israel and Palestine, three actors showed solidarity with Palestine in the curtain call of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. The actors wore Palestinian keffiyehs. It was enough to garner complaints against the company from the community.
An online petition to call for a formal apology from the company amassed over 1000 signatures. The company cancelled one of the season’s performances and made clear the actors were to keep politics off stage. Long-serving Board member Judi Hausmann resigned from her position over the furore. Ultimately the company stood by the actors and their right to express themselves in a public statement.
Speaking to ArtsHub in the 24 hours after the protest, Wesley Enoch indirectly criticised the company’s decision to apologise on behalf of its actors. The idea that artists weren’t political animals was ‘naive’ at best, he told ArtsHub. The comments came very early in Enoch’s tenure as Deputy Chair of the Creative Australia Board, which is currently under fire for its handling of the Venice Biennale scandal.
Debate over artistic representation of the Palestinian cause continues across Australian arts institutions.
