Previews for the second Malta Biennale begin this week, but not without controversy. Women on Waves, a nonprofit that provides information about safe abortion in restrictive settings, accused biennial organizers of “censoring” one of its artworks ahead of Tuesday’s opening.
The piece originally featured a banner Need abortion pills? English and Maltese. According to a press release from Women on the Waves, at the request of the Biennale, the banner was modified to read: Do you need a safe abortion?use this word pill Crossed out. The nonprofit said organizers then informed them that the changes were “inappropriate” and that new banners would need to be created. The next day, Women on the Waves said they were told the artwork would be removed because it did not meet “minimum standards of aesthetic quality for display at international biennales.”
Related articles
However, the Biennale tells art news The artwork “still exists intact.” Lisa Gwen Chetcuti, the biennale’s director of communications, said in an email that “it is regrettable that they mistook curatorial direction for censorship, as they did not follow agreed curatorial input on some of the installations.”
Women on Waves refutes this framework when it comes to proposing it art newsIn an email, organizers “attempted to take it down on Tuesday. However, they needed a scaffolding and it seems they were unable to organize. Perhaps media reports dissuaded them.”
Malta has some of the strictest abortion laws in the EU. Until 2023, abortion will be illegal under all circumstances. An amendment passed that year allowed the termination of pregnancies if the mother’s life was in serious danger or there was an immediate risk of death.
Women on Waves founder Dr. Rebecca Gomperts said in a statement, “There is nothing uglier than censorship. Medical abortion is the only safe method available to women in Malta. The Biennale is harming these women by withholding important health information relevant to their health by censoring the word ‘pill’. This violates women’s rights to scientific information and our rights to freedom of expression and expression.”
Video shot and reviewed by Women on Waves members art news It appears to show a man trying to remove the artwork, but is unable to do so as he does not have a ladder high enough. A man who appeared to be a Biennale staff member then scolded the member for filming the attempt to remove the banner.
