Vancouver censors anti-Olympic art
p2pnet news view P2P | Politics:- On the right is anti-Olympic artwork hung outside the crying room on East Cordova Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, said The Blackbird on Flickr in September.
But yesterday, “the Crying Room Gallery got a visit from City of Vancouver bylaw inspectors who demanded that they remove ‘graffiti’ from the front of their gallery,” says Boingboing, going on:
“The graffiti in question was an anti-Olympic mural by a local artist. The City says it had ‘nothing to do with content’ and everything to do with graffiti bylaws, but the Crying Room has had art up in that space for the better part of ten years without complaint.”
Now, “Despite claims that they won’t be censoring political expression during the Olympics, the City of Vancouver has already started doing just that,” says 2010 Legal Observer Program Watching the watchers at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
It promises to “keep an up-to-date gallery of the things that VANOC, the IOC, and the City of Vancouver order removed in the leadup to the Games.”
Says the BC Civil Liberties Association >>>
The City of Vancouver has shut down the public art space that has existed, uninterrupted since 2003, in front of the Crying Room gallery at 157 East Cordova Street following the posting of an anti-Olympic mural.
“Given the long and uninterrupted display of public art at this gallery, the tolerance of the City to date, the content of the mural, and the stipulations of the IOC and VANOC in limiting anti-Olympic expression, it certainly appears to be more than simple coincidence that the City has chosen this mural, at this time, to take exception to the Gallery’s actions,” said Robert Holmes, President of the BCCLA.
The City issued a notice to the landlord of the Gallery suggesting that the anti-Olympic mural was graffiti and contravened the City’s restrictions on graffiti, and ordering the mural removed. The BCCLA has written a letter to the City of Vancouver, expressing disappointment that the City has targeted this expression, apparently based on the content of the sign.
Stay tuned.
(Cheers, Marc)
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Boingboing – Anti-Olympic mural censored in Vancouver, December 11, 2009
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December 12th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Many people boycotted the Beijing Olympic because of the repression and killing in Tibet perpetrated by the Chinese government.
Does the city of Vancouver want people to boycott the Vancouver Olympic too?
If this is what they want just continue this way by acting like Asshole and it will happen.
December 12th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
YES!
BOYCOTT THE VANCOUVER OLYMPIC!
December 12th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
That’s a pretty silly thing to do to make a big deal about this!
Do this and on the morning of the Olympic you will see Olympic graffiti all over Vancouver!
Great Move!
December 12th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
So if they didnt say anything about that artwork then it would never be on the news for even more people to see. I actually quite like that artwork. It makes me thing that only 1 in 5 are happy about the Olympics.
December 13th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
But the interlocking rings are a registered trademark. That’s illegal, trademark infringement. Almost as bad as singing ‘happy birthday’ without filing the necessary paperwork.
December 14th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Help keep Olympic security honest – become a legal observer!
http://olympicresistance.net/content/help-keep-olympic-security-honest-–-become-legal-observer
Pivot Legal Society and the BC Civil Liberties Association have teamed up to train legal observers for the 2010 Olympic Games, and we hope you will get involved!
Like many of you, Pivot and the BCCLA are concerned that when the more than 7,000 police officers, 5,000 private security guards and 4,500 members of the Canadian armed forces arrive in Vancouver this February, their presence may get in the way of citizens’ constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Bylaws recently passed by the City of Vancouver suggest that we have good reason to be worried.
We plan to be ready, with dozens of people prepared to act as eyes and ears on the streets. Legal observers will be trained to watch for violations and to document and report them.
As a legal observer, you will help ensure accountability of law enforcement during the Olympic Games. You don’t need to have any legal background to get involved. We encourage you to sign up for a training session and find out more about what’s involved in being a legal observer.
February 12th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Classic big committee stupidity. if they had just left it alone, no one would have cared and 10 people would have seen it. Now its all over the world. Art gallery wins. Also, what’s so bad about it. To me it represents that there is 1 winner (smiley) and a set of losers (frowns) in competition. Atheletes understand this and so does the public. big deal.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
As a Canadian I believe we need to be vigilant to the censorship of the IOC and other governing bodies. Our children should learn to recognize these infringements and we as parents sometimes need to show them that this is wrong. ‘O Canada we stand on guard for thee‘. There is a reason why we as Canadians take this oath as we award our athletes for their excellence and their service to themselves and their country. Today one of my daughters YouTube videos was censored by the IOC. I invite you to check out this over-the-top censorship at http://blog.virtualwhistler.com/?p=322
February 17th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
@ iVision4u:
I don’t usually allow self-promo links to other sites in comments, but this one stays, and I’ll do a post tomorrow.
Cheers!