Human Rights And Arts Organisations Hold Event To Call For End To Censorship

Una Mullally, whose Repeal the Eighth event was cancelled by Dublin City Council, will act as anchor.

Events . Written by Peter Dunne .

In an act of censorship, a man paints over a mural supporting Repeal The Eighth while the press look on

On April 30, Project Arts Centre in Dublin will play host to an event calling for an end to censorship.

‘The Best Banned in the Land – A Forum on Artistic Freedom of Expression’ will take place just after the anniversary of the day that Maser’s instantly recognisable Repeal the Eighth mural was forcibly removed from the front of the building. Project had shown its support for the Repeal movement with the image before the Charities Regulator ordered for it to be taken down.

At the event, speakers from human rights and arts organisations will come together to celebrate free artistic expression and call for an end to censorship in all of its forms. Anchoring the talks will be journalist Una Mullally who also fell afoul of censorship when Dublin City Council cancelled a discussion on her Repeal The 8th anthology.

Mullally will be joined for the discussion by Lian Bell, campaign director of Waking the Feminists, historian Donal Fallon, broadcaster Evelyn O’Rourke, arts campaigner Angela Dorgan, NCAD professor Declan Long, poet and barrister John O’Donnell SC, and Project Arts Centre’s artistic director Cian O’Brien to discuss the main obstacles to artists’ freedom of expression today and what can be done to overcome them.

Project will also host a collaboration between GCN and Extinction Rebellion on May 1 called ‘Mayday: The Fight To Save Our World‘.

Cian O’Brien, who painted over the mural following the order by the Charities Regulator, said: “From my perspective, little has changed since the censorship issues last year. The situation in Ireland is very complicated; where official bodies are using their power to decide what art is political, how it’s political, and when it’s acceptable. This has serious ramifications for artists, venues, festivals and for society in general.”

Topics under discussion will include a focus on conditions leading to censorship today, including legal issues, tied funding, barriers to participation, and self-censorship. Speakers will also highlight the importance to society of freedom of expression, particularly artistic freedom of expression.

The event, which is a collaboration between the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Irish Writers Centre, Poetry Ireland, the Writers’ Guild and Project Arts Centre will take place on April 30 between 11am and 4pm. While free, there is s suggested donation of €5. To ensure your place, you can book tickets here. 

It is kindly sponsored by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.

© 2019 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.

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