Two Palestinian flags on a tapestry on display at the National Gallery of Australia have been concealed with white fabric, in what the artists have described as an act of censorship they only agreed to reluctantly.
New Zealand-based Rosanna Raymond, the curator of the Te Paepae Aora’i – Where the Gods Cannot be Fooled exhibition, told Guardian Australia “we were censored over that work” by the NGA.
The revelation about the exhibition comes amid outcry over the dumping of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino by Creative Australia from the 2026 Venice Biennale, and wider concerns about artistic freedom and censorship.
Top news
Troubled Whyalla steelworks gets $2.4bn government bailout as hunt for new owner begins
Peter Dutton says Trump ‘got it wrong’ when he called Zelenskyy a ‘dictator without elections’
Meta and Google opt out of Sydney Mardi Gras amid move away from DEI in US
Victoria to axe thousands of public service jobs as treasurer warns of ‘difficult decisions’
In pictures
Go backstage at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building as Richard Wagner’s music drama Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg fills the halls of the world heritage-listed venue.
What they said …
***
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
Donald Trump is receiving widespread backlash after he likened himself to a “king” on social media amid a tussle over traffic and congestion in New York City. The White House then proceeded to share Trump’s quote.
In numbers
The 0.1 percentage point gain in unemployment came after an identical rise in December, but the jobless rate remains historically low.
Before bed read
Peter Drew is known as a political street artist, but for months he has been posting his workouts and sharing his new muscular physique online – and “provoking” some of his fans – all in the name of narcissism.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: LAX. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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