Flying Shortbread

Before ... President Jacob Zuma, before he was elected, said that "When I was growing up, unqingili (homosexuals) could not stand in front of me. I would knock him out." He later apologised for the remark. The insult ... Lulu Xingwana, Arts and Culture Minister, stormed out of the exhibition, Innovative Women, before making a scheduled speech, saying, "Our mandate is to promote social cohesion and nation-building. I left the exhibition because it expressed the very opposite of this. It was immoral, offensive and going against nation-building." She went on to say it was time for "a long overdue debate on what is art and where do we draw the line between art and pornography." Afterward ... Although Xingwana denies this, three insiders told The Times that after the department’s lawyers found nothing pornographic about the art, she then called in lawyers from a Pretoria law firm to “inspect” the work. Insiders said they were flown to Cape Town for the open...

The government should be separate from art (and civil society in general) in a power sense. Politicians are power hungry and threaten a form of censorship in order to gain votes. And people will self-censor because of the power politicians may exert. We should not be in bed with government. Zanele should never have invited the minister to open for her. David Goldblatt, photographer Deeply dissapointed in the minister's attitude towards freedom of expression. She is against nation-building because of the intolerance she displayed towards lesbians. The Arts and Culture Department should respect, protect and promote art - that is their mandate. The money government gives to art should not be used to persuade or censor artists. Melissa Moor, Director of Freedom of Expression institute (Whatever it is) it is art, and you don't have to like it. Jenny Crwys Williams What the minister did is unconstitutional.  Some people's understanding of art is impoverishing, they think...