Magazine

We, the undersigned artists participating in the Aichi Triennale (2019), condemn the decision to close a full section of the exhibition as an unacceptable act of censorship. The section titled “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’”, a special project of the Aichi Triennale, was closed indefinitely to the public on August 3rd due to political pressure from the State as well as pressure from anonymous sources threatening to take violent and terrorist actions unless the works in question were removed from the exhibition.

The Japan branch of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) has released a statement on the closure of “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” at Aichi Triennale 2019. Dated August 7 and signed by AICA Japan president Fumio Nanjo, the AICA statement expresses grave concern about the situation, firmly stating that “the suppression of expressive activities by violence and threats is unacceptable.”

We the undersigned are participating artists in Aichi Triennale 2019. We here express our thoughts on the closure of the exhibit “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’”, a section of the Triennale featuring artworks that have experienced various forms of censorship at public art institutions across Japan.