ARTS MINISTER SLATES LESBIAN PHOTOS
South Africa’s Arts and Culture Minister Lulu Xingwana has walked out of an exhibition after seeing photographs by an acclaimed lesbian photographer.
The Times reported on Tuesday, that Xingwana was set to open the Innovative Women exhibition in Johannesburg at Constitution Hill.
However, when she saw the images by lesbian artist and activist Zanele Muholi included in the exhibition by young black female artists, she left the event “in a huff” without giving her speech, describing Muholi’s work as “pornographic”.
Xingwana’s spokesperson later read out a statement to the newspaper confirming the incident. “Our mandate is to promote social cohesion and nation building. I left the exhibition because it expressed the very opposite of this.”
The minister added that “It was immoral, offensive and going against nation-building.”
The exhibition, which has already been shown in Durban and Cape Town, was given R300,000 in funding by Xingwana’s department.
It was reported that the minister had previously tried to bar the images of naked lesbian couples from the exhibition. The incident suggests that the Department of Arts and Culture may be unconstitutionally imposing moral censorship on its funding and other functions.
Muholi told the newspaper from the US: “Those pictures are based on experience and issues. Where else can we express ourselves if not in our democratic country? Children need to know about these things. A lot of people who have no understanding of sexual orientation, people are suffering in silence.”
Muholi, whose work has been shown around the world to wide acclaim, has won a number of international awards for her photography. She was chosen as the 2009 Ida Ely Rubin Artist-in-Residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Congrats!. Congrats on the amazing publicity Zanele!!!!
true S Africa. This just adds to the list of senior government members, including our resident who have no concept or understanding of our constitutional rights.
how about showing us what the drama is about?. .. seems a bit pointless otherwise..
Protest. Hmm,
Is this then not a good time and opportunity for the LGBT community to file an official case of dicrimnation against the Minister and protest her actions and DEMAND and apology from her?
Or will we sit back and let this slide?
I so miss the days of the drag queens who had the balls to stand up to this kind of discrimination…
I would like to see these photos. Anyone know more about where, when, cost of this exhibition?