Theatre representatives from South Africa and abroad release their
statement about the recent closure of EXHIBIT B in London. (courtesy of
Artslink)
We, representatives of the 14 theatres, festivals and arts
organizations from South Africa, Scotland, France, Belgium, Finland, Germany,
Austria, Holland, Poland and England, which, in the last 4 years, produced,
co-produced and presented the art projects Exhibit A /Exhibit B, by
South-African artist Brett Bailey, express our concern at the cancellation of
the production at the Barbican Centre in London last week.
Whilst we recognise the right of people to protest against
any artwork that sets out to provoke, challenge and inspire a reflection and
dialogue, we affirm our position that the manner in which Brett Bailey's work
was cancelled goes beyond the realm of protest and finds itself in the arena of
censorship.
As Artistic Directors, Presenters and Promoters who have
seen the production, we fully support this theatre work which is a critique of
colonial exhibitions and human zoos. We refute the idea that Exhibit B
re-enacts these spectacles of dehumanization and exotification. It is in no way
a racist art project but obviously and completely the contrary.
Exhibit B ask its audience – one person at a time – to stand
alone, very close to a performer, sharing some extremely uncomfortable truths;
looking and listening, performer and audience together. Perhaps the most
powerful moments we have all experienced in Exhibit B were those instants when
eyes meet. For some, such moments can never change a political perspective or
personal point of view but for most people who have had the opportunity to
experience Exhibit B as a public event, the simple act of being in such close
proximity to a performer, sharing and evoking such complex historical and
emotional realities, is genuinely powerful, palpable, undeniable. The actions
of the protesters have completely missed the point of Exhibit B. How could it
be otherwise, as they haven’t even seen it? In attempting to portray something
as complex and nuanced as Exhibit B as nothing more than a polemical exercise,
without ever having shared its powerful intimacy, they have denied a very
subtle and humane work of art, its right to be seen and heard.
The performance was presented to more than 25000 audience
members in our various cities in the last four years. It was received in a
positive way by a very diverse and international crowd. The effect on this
audience is important as the piece challenges ethnocentric beliefs and
questions our relationship to otherness today.
We also recognize that art which is rooted in the political
context will evoke social responses. In this regard we recognize the need for
on-going dialogue between artists, arts management and communities. We believe
that such a dialogue will create a space for a meeting of minds and hearts and
help us all to solidify the power of the arts to drive social change, heal us
from our painful pasts and empower us to engage proactively with the
contradictions in our present societies. Censoring art denies all of society
the opportunity to make informed choices.
We empathise with Brett Bailey, his crew and also to all the
150 performers who have engaged into this essential project and who are
censored from being the instruments through which art mediates with society. We
thank them for challenging us and we hope that they will be able to express
freely themselves through their art in the future. As Brett Bailey puts it:
"Do any of us really want to live in a society in which expression is
suppressed, banned, silenced, denied a platform? My work has been shut down
today, whose will be closed down tomorrow?"
Brett Bailey issued a detailed statement in the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/24/exhibit-b-challenging-work-never-sought-alienate-offend-brett-bailey
WE STAND BEHIND BRETT BAILEY, HIS PERFORMANCE EXHIBIT B AND
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Wiener Festwochen – Vienna – Austria – Stefanie Carp (former
Curator Drama) & Stefan Schmidtke Festival Theaterformen – Braunschweig /
Hannover – Germany – Martine Dennewald & Anja Dirks (Festival du Belluard -
Fribourg - Switzerland) Kiasma – Helsinki – Finland – Jonna Strandberg
Kunstenfestivaldesarts – Brussels – Belgium – Christophe Slagmuylder KVS –
Brussels – Belgium – Jan Goossens National Arts Festival - Grahamstown - South
Africa – Ismail Mahomed Foreign Affairs of the Berliner Festspiele – Berlin –
Germany – Frie Leysen (former Artistic Director) & Matthias Von Hartz
Holland Festival – Amsterdam – Holland – Annemieke Keurentjes Vooruit – Ghent –
Belgium – Matthieu Goeury Festival d'Avignon 2013 – Avignon – France - Vincent
Baudriller (Théâtre de Vidy - Lausanne - Switzerland) Festival d'Automne -
Paris - France - Marie Collin Le 104 – Paris – France – José Manuel Goncalves
Maillon – Strasbourg – France – Bernard Fleury International Theatre Festival
DIALOG - Wroclaw - Poland – Krystyna Meissner Edinburgh International Festival
– Edinburgh – Scotland – Jonathan Mills Barbican Centre – London – United
Kingdom – Louise Jeffreys
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