US EditionUnion flag exhibition cancelled for fear of causing offence
Brighton Council canceled an exhibition featuring reimagined Union Flags with contributions from over 10,000 participants to avoid misinterpretation and protect minority communities.
- On December 1 the planned exhibition was cancelled by Brighton and Hove City Council, which said libraries must remain neutral safe spaces and warned some customers might misread the flags as a council statement.
- Amid concerns raised in recent weeks and months, council leaders cited fears minority communities expressed about flags losing artistic context and stressed maintaining Libraries of Sanctuary status and visitor safety.
- The New Union Flag project reimagines the Union Jack using textiles from Britain’s diverse communities and was created through workshops involving over 10,000 participants, with planned library foyer displays including two other reimagined flags bearing provocative text about migration and identity.
- Organisers and the artist expressed shock and called the decision a flat cancellation, with Stand Up To Racism saying they were open to negotiation but faced censorship amid claims of far-right intimidation.
- Previously the project has been shown locally and nationally without incident, organisers note, including at the Jubilee Library in 2018 and in Margate three days after Brexit, while Dr Gil, artist, is Arab-Jewish and has lived in Brighton for eight years.
6 Articles
6 Articles
'Anti-racist Union Jack' display cancelled - because it might offend 'minority groups'
An "anti-racist Union Jack" exhibition has been scrapped because it might offend minority groups.The artwork, the national flag "reimagined" as a symbol of diversity and migration, had been slated to go on show at Brighton's Jubilee Library next month.The exhibtion was set to display Gil Mualem-Doron's "New Union Flag", a reworked banner "made using textiles from the UK's diverse communities", as well as two new flags.It had been organised with …
Anti-racist flag exhibition cancelled by council
An anti-racist library exhibition featuring a reimagined union flag has been cancelled because the council fears it could inadvertently upset minority groups. The show features artist Gil Mualem-Doron’s New Union Flag, made up using textiles from the UK’s diverse communities, alongside two new flags. It has previously been displayed at the Tate Modern, Southbank Centre […]
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