View allAll Photos Tagged FreedomOfExpression
6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
Poor little thrift ghost looks mighty happy that the Value Village in the Hollywood District is now gone. Boo-hoo. That was one of my favs!
Media Release
Palestine Action Group Canberra (PAGC) - campaigning for freedom, justice and equality in Palestine - and Canberra Palestine and Climate Justice Group (CPCJC) are appalled at the censorship of the Palestinian flag in an Indigenous art installation at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and are rallying against it at 1pm today.
The groups say censorship of artwork or any nation’s flag is unacceptable, and censorship of the Palestinian flag while the Palestinian people are enduring a genocide is particularly distasteful.
“Once censorship starts, it is the beginning of the end, because if an institution can censor, particularly on such spurious grounds, there is no logical reason why you would censor one thing and not another,” says CPCJC’s Dr Tamara Kayali Browne.
“Even if you are not passionate about the struggle for Palestinian liberation, everyone has an interest in opposing this censorship, because if this is permitted, it sets a very bad precedent and we could all be censored.
“The NGA’s justification for censorship is patently absurd, as the flag consists of a piece of cloth, and a piece of cloth cannot possibly threaten anyone’s security.”
This censorship goes against the NGA’s own stance that,
“Art is for all of us. It allows us to see the world in ways that expand our minds, provoke our ideas, ignite our imaginations. At the National Gallery we strive for cultural experiences that surprise, that disrupt convention, that deepen our understanding of the human condition and the world we live in.”
It appears the NGA needs to correct its statement to read “except for Palestine”.
The artwork is a celebration of anti-colonial struggles. It is not ethically or logically coherent to allow expression of one anti-colonial struggle and not another.
Link to Guardian article: www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/21/national-g...
6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
A discuss on the interplay between Freedom of Expression and Wrongful Convictions based on the publication Fallos Judiciales que Violan Derechos Humanos en Ecuador: Seis estudios de caso, which presents a rigorous academic study of 6 selected cases in Ecuador
6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell joining The Common Good and doing a book signing of A NATION OF WUSSES: How America’s Leaders Lost the Guts to Make Us Great.
A discuss on the interplay between Freedom of Expression and Wrongful Convictions based on the publication Fallos Judiciales que Violan Derechos Humanos en Ecuador: Seis estudios de caso, which presents a rigorous academic study of 6 selected cases in Ecuador
Media Release
Palestine Action Group Canberra (PAGC) - campaigning for freedom, justice and equality in Palestine - and Canberra Palestine and Climate Justice Group (CPCJC) are appalled at the censorship of the Palestinian flag in an Indigenous art installation at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and are rallying against it at 1pm today.
The groups say censorship of artwork or any nation’s flag is unacceptable, and censorship of the Palestinian flag while the Palestinian people are enduring a genocide is particularly distasteful.
“Once censorship starts, it is the beginning of the end, because if an institution can censor, particularly on such spurious grounds, there is no logical reason why you would censor one thing and not another,” says CPCJC’s Dr Tamara Kayali Browne.
“Even if you are not passionate about the struggle for Palestinian liberation, everyone has an interest in opposing this censorship, because if this is permitted, it sets a very bad precedent and we could all be censored.
“The NGA’s justification for censorship is patently absurd, as the flag consists of a piece of cloth, and a piece of cloth cannot possibly threaten anyone’s security.”
This censorship goes against the NGA’s own stance that,
“Art is for all of us. It allows us to see the world in ways that expand our minds, provoke our ideas, ignite our imaginations. At the National Gallery we strive for cultural experiences that surprise, that disrupt convention, that deepen our understanding of the human condition and the world we live in.”
It appears the NGA needs to correct its statement to read “except for Palestine”.
The artwork is a celebration of anti-colonial struggles. It is not ethically or logically coherent to allow expression of one anti-colonial struggle and not another.
Link to Guardian article: www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/21/national-g...
While I do not agree with the flaggers, they certainly made for interesting subject matter. The fact that freedom of expression from opposite viewpoints can peacefully co-exist says a lot about RVA.
Plenty of police officers were guarding in front of the presidential palace during the protest against brutal massacre of Ahmadis
A discuss on the interplay between Freedom of Expression and Wrongful Convictions based on the publication Fallos Judiciales que Violan Derechos Humanos en Ecuador: Seis estudios de caso, which presents a rigorous academic study of 6 selected cases in Ecuador
Facing the tumbling water of the Grand River, the hopeful fish catchers are alert to the pull of a fish bite at the end of their lines. They spread themselves out automatically, without the intervention of some sort of river boss. No matter their political beliefs or voting behaviors, they all seem to get along all right. By contrast, the pack of stories, symbols, and meanings conjured up by the (Donald J.) TRUMP flag planted mid-river depends on outrage and divisiveness to attract attention.
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6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
Media Release
Palestine Action Group Canberra (PAGC) - campaigning for freedom, justice and equality in Palestine - and Canberra Palestine and Climate Justice Group (CPCJC) are appalled at the censorship of the Palestinian flag in an Indigenous art installation at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and are rallying against it at 1pm today.
The groups say censorship of artwork or any nation’s flag is unacceptable, and censorship of the Palestinian flag while the Palestinian people are enduring a genocide is particularly distasteful.
“Once censorship starts, it is the beginning of the end, because if an institution can censor, particularly on such spurious grounds, there is no logical reason why you would censor one thing and not another,” says CPCJC’s Dr Tamara Kayali Browne.
“Even if you are not passionate about the struggle for Palestinian liberation, everyone has an interest in opposing this censorship, because if this is permitted, it sets a very bad precedent and we could all be censored.
“The NGA’s justification for censorship is patently absurd, as the flag consists of a piece of cloth, and a piece of cloth cannot possibly threaten anyone’s security.”
This censorship goes against the NGA’s own stance that,
“Art is for all of us. It allows us to see the world in ways that expand our minds, provoke our ideas, ignite our imaginations. At the National Gallery we strive for cultural experiences that surprise, that disrupt convention, that deepen our understanding of the human condition and the world we live in.”
It appears the NGA needs to correct its statement to read “except for Palestine”.
The artwork is a celebration of anti-colonial struggles. It is not ethically or logically coherent to allow expression of one anti-colonial struggle and not another.
Link to Guardian article: www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/21/national-g...
Building the Parthenon of Books, Documenta 14, 2017. A contributor adds a few building blocks of forbidden books.
Media Release
Palestine Action Group Canberra (PAGC) - campaigning for freedom, justice and equality in Palestine - and Canberra Palestine and Climate Justice Group (CPCJC) are appalled at the censorship of the Palestinian flag in an Indigenous art installation at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and are rallying against it at 1pm today.
The groups say censorship of artwork or any nation’s flag is unacceptable, and censorship of the Palestinian flag while the Palestinian people are enduring a genocide is particularly distasteful.
“Once censorship starts, it is the beginning of the end, because if an institution can censor, particularly on such spurious grounds, there is no logical reason why you would censor one thing and not another,” says CPCJC’s Dr Tamara Kayali Browne.
“Even if you are not passionate about the struggle for Palestinian liberation, everyone has an interest in opposing this censorship, because if this is permitted, it sets a very bad precedent and we could all be censored.
“The NGA’s justification for censorship is patently absurd, as the flag consists of a piece of cloth, and a piece of cloth cannot possibly threaten anyone’s security.”
This censorship goes against the NGA’s own stance that,
“Art is for all of us. It allows us to see the world in ways that expand our minds, provoke our ideas, ignite our imaginations. At the National Gallery we strive for cultural experiences that surprise, that disrupt convention, that deepen our understanding of the human condition and the world we live in.”
It appears the NGA needs to correct its statement to read “except for Palestine”.
The artwork is a celebration of anti-colonial struggles. It is not ethically or logically coherent to allow expression of one anti-colonial struggle and not another.
Link to Guardian article: www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/21/national-g...
"The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw
And the teacher said.. What you doin' young man
I'm paintin' flowers he said
She said... It's not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red
There's a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You've got to show concern for everyone else
For you're not the only one
And she said...
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen
But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one
Well the teacher said.. You're sassy
There's ways that things should be
And you'll paint flowers the way they are
So repeat after me.....
And she said...
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen
But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one
The teacher put him in a corner
She said.. It's for your own good..
And you won't come out 'til you get it right
And are responding like you should
Well finally he got lonely
Frightened thoughts filled his head
And he went up to the teacher
And this is what he said.. and he said
Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen
Time went by like it always does
And they moved to another town
And the little boy went to another school
And this is what he found
The teacher there was smilin'
She said...Painting should be fun
And there are so many colors in a flower
So let's use every one
But that little boy painted flowers
In neat rows of green and red
And when the teacher asked him why
This is what he said.. and he said
Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen.
But there still must be a way to have our children say . . .
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one."
by Harry Chapin
©SD All Rights Reserved
6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
Remi's Speech
Free expression is at the heart of artistic practice, yet we continue to see institutions suppress works that challenge dominant narratives. Whether through overt censorship or institutional cowardice, these acts undermine the role of art as a space for critical engagement. The recent covering up of the Palestinian flag at the NGA and the silencing of pro-Palestinian voices at the ANU school of art and design are stark reminders of this ongoing repression. These actions reflect a broader pattern in which institutions claim to support free speech and artistic expression, until that expression disrupts power.
Censorship is not just the removal of an artwork, it is a deliberate attempt to dictate what can and cannot be said, seen, and remembered. Art that engages with Palestine is a necessary part of the global conversation on justice, history, and colonial violence. When institutions erase these voices, they are complicit in the very systems of oppression that artists seek to challenge. The covering up of the Palestinian flag at the NGA and the censorship of Khaled Sabsabi’s work are acts of ideological warfare, meant to pacify resistance and erase the reality of occupation and struggle.
But we refuse to be complicit. The SOAD Collective will be running a photo action this Wednesday at 1:15pm in the Shababeek memorial gallery (fka the project space) in solidarity with artist Khaled Sabsabi, ensuring that the NGA’s role in this suppression is also exposed. We recognise that this is not just about one artist or one institution, it is about the broader system that seeks to sanitize art and suppress dissent. We refuse to accept the erasure of political expression in the arts. The silencing of Palestinian solidarity in cultural spaces must be confronted, and we call on fellow artists, students, and community members to stand with us. Free speech must extend beyond the comfortable and the apolitical. Artists have always been at the forefront of speaking truth to power, and we will not be silenced.
Remi, ANU School of Art and Design student
Link to Guardian article: www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/21/national-g...
6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
Media Release
Palestine Action Group Canberra (PAGC) - campaigning for freedom, justice and equality in Palestine - and Canberra Palestine and Climate Justice Group (CPCJC) are appalled at the censorship of the Palestinian flag in an Indigenous art installation at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and are rallying against it at 1pm today.
The groups say censorship of artwork or any nation’s flag is unacceptable, and censorship of the Palestinian flag while the Palestinian people are enduring a genocide is particularly distasteful.
“Once censorship starts, it is the beginning of the end, because if an institution can censor, particularly on such spurious grounds, there is no logical reason why you would censor one thing and not another,” says CPCJC’s Dr Tamara Kayali Browne.
“Even if you are not passionate about the struggle for Palestinian liberation, everyone has an interest in opposing this censorship, because if this is permitted, it sets a very bad precedent and we could all be censored.
“The NGA’s justification for censorship is patently absurd, as the flag consists of a piece of cloth, and a piece of cloth cannot possibly threaten anyone’s security.”
This censorship goes against the NGA’s own stance that,
“Art is for all of us. It allows us to see the world in ways that expand our minds, provoke our ideas, ignite our imaginations. At the National Gallery we strive for cultural experiences that surprise, that disrupt convention, that deepen our understanding of the human condition and the world we live in.”
It appears the NGA needs to correct its statement to read “except for Palestine”.
The artwork is a celebration of anti-colonial struggles. It is not ethically or logically coherent to allow expression of one anti-colonial struggle and not another.
Link to Guardian article: www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/21/national-g...
6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
A discuss on the interplay between Freedom of Expression and Wrongful Convictions based on the publication Fallos Judiciales que Violan Derechos Humanos en Ecuador: Seis estudios de caso, which presents a rigorous academic study of 6 selected cases in Ecuador
6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
6 October 2015: The PEN Pinter Prize 2015 was awarded at the British Library to James Fenton. Raif Badawi was named the PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage. Photos: George Torode for English PEN
Media Release
Palestine Action Group Canberra (PAGC) - campaigning for freedom, justice and equality in Palestine - and Canberra Palestine and Climate Justice Group (CPCJC) are appalled at the censorship of the Palestinian flag in an Indigenous art installation at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and are rallying against it at 1pm today.
The groups say censorship of artwork or any nation’s flag is unacceptable, and censorship of the Palestinian flag while the Palestinian people are enduring a genocide is particularly distasteful.
“Once censorship starts, it is the beginning of the end, because if an institution can censor, particularly on such spurious grounds, there is no logical reason why you would censor one thing and not another,” says CPCJC’s Dr Tamara Kayali Browne.
“Even if you are not passionate about the struggle for Palestinian liberation, everyone has an interest in opposing this censorship, because if this is permitted, it sets a very bad precedent and we could all be censored.
“The NGA’s justification for censorship is patently absurd, as the flag consists of a piece of cloth, and a piece of cloth cannot possibly threaten anyone’s security.”
This censorship goes against the NGA’s own stance that,
“Art is for all of us. It allows us to see the world in ways that expand our minds, provoke our ideas, ignite our imaginations. At the National Gallery we strive for cultural experiences that surprise, that disrupt convention, that deepen our understanding of the human condition and the world we live in.”
It appears the NGA needs to correct its statement to read “except for Palestine”.
The artwork is a celebration of anti-colonial struggles. It is not ethically or logically coherent to allow expression of one anti-colonial struggle and not another.
Link to Guardian article: www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/21/national-g...
There's this booth in the airport. It's been there since at least 2005.
I kind of want to call the number and procure a permit and get behind that booth and express myself in all kinds of ways.