In short:
A month-long exhibition from Palawa/Pakana artist Cody Gangell-Smith, which explored queer identity, politics and culture, has been shut down by the University of Tasmania after opening night.
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which → explore → night
The university received complaints about the show before it had opened, due to its visibility to the public from the street.
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it → receive → street
The show was closed by the university after a Work Health & Safety check was conducted, which found "non-compliant" electronics.
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which → close → electronics
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) has cancelled a debut solo exhibition by a queer Aboriginal artist over electrical safety concerns, following a complaint about the show's public visibility before it had opened.
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it → cancel → visibility
Warning: This story contains content that may offend some readers.
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that → contain → readers
Hobiennale is a four-day art program co-directed by Feras Shaheen and Nadia Rafaei.
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Hobiennale → co → Shaheen
The event, which ran from October 29 to November 1, was founded by Tasmanian artist initiative Constance ARI.
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which → run → ARI
This year was the first time it had run since 2019.
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it → run → 2019
As part of the program, gay Palawa/Pakana artist and activist Cody Gangell-Smith produced an exhibition titled Radical Faggotry, which was held at UTAS's Centre for the Arts building on Hunter Street.
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which → produce → Street
On the festival's website, the exhibition is described as a "poofter-punk, homocore playground of politics and art, spanning gay sex, culture and identity" and was intended to run for one month.
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exhibition → describe → month
Mr Gangell-Smith told 936 ABC Hobart that during the exhibition's set-up last Wednesday, a complaint was made about its content, which was visible to the public.
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which → tell → public
"Those issues were remedied and we did cover all of the windows, erect all of the signage that was to be set in place," he said.
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he → remedie → place
"But UTAS still requested that the works be removed and censored, and ultimately closed the exhibition."
Closure due to non-compliant electrical items
On October 28, the head of the UTAS Creative and Performing Arts School, Professor Alexandra Lasczik, wrote to Mr Shaheen saying she had not authorised Mr Gangell's artwork for installation at that location and the artwork needed to be removed from public view.
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artwork → request → view
"Neither the nature of the content nor the curatorial decision to make it fully visible from the street was communicated to, or approved by, the School," Professor Lasczik wrote.
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Lasczik → make → School
"Concerns have already been raised with me regarding its unrestricted visibility from a public street."
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Concerns → raise → street
Mr Gangell-Smith told 936 ABC Hobart that despite having the show planned for months, he decided to censor some of the works hours before the show was set to open.
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show → tell → works
The day after the exhibition's opening, Professor Lasczik emailed Mr Shaheen again saying "electrical items" had been found during an inspection that were not compliant with safety standards, and asked that the exhibition be closed immediately.
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exhibition → email → standards
According to Mr Gangell-Smith, the electrical items were LED fairy lights from Kmart, which had not been tested and tagged.
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which → accord → Kmart
He said a further inspection of the building found that extension cords supplied by the university were "also non-compliant and were significantly out of date on their testing and tagging".
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cords → say → testing
Curatorial independence 'critical', festival says
Mr Shaheen said he had not seen the original complaint made about the show, and that Hobiannale's "programming, curatorial or creative decisions are not in our agreement with the university" and do not require UTAS's approval for content.
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decisions → say → content
In a statement, Professor Lasczik said the university's concerns "were about process and public safety, not the content of the work".
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concerns → say → work
Professor Lasczik said the exhibition had been installed in a street-facing space that meant sexually explicit material was visible to children and the general public.
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material → say → children
"Had the organisers of the exhibition consulted the school on an appropriate approach to public display and adhered to basic WHS requirements, the exhibition would have proceeded," she said.
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she → consult → requirements
Artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele attended the exhibition during its brief run and said she did not see anything that felt inappropriate.
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that → attend → anything
Instead, she said the university's decision to close the exhibition had turned the work into a performance and shone "a light on UTAS's outdated censorship practices".
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decision → say → practices
"Ironically, they are collaborating with him,"Ms Kaechele said.
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Kaechele → collaborate → ?
"UTAS is unwittingly participating in his artwork.
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UTAS → participate → artwork
The Aporia