Sedition laws limit the free speech of artists
In the wake of heavy handed treatment of an artist by law enforcement officers, the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) today called for the new federal Labor government to urgently implement its commitment to reviewing the Anti-Terrorism legislation and remove the word “sedition” from federal criminal law. On Saturday, November 24th (election day), artist Van Thanh Rudd and a two person film crew were on a train at Fremantle railway station when they were threatened with arrest by two Transit Officers. The crew were filming Van Rudd in the process of exhibiting his painting “Exploding Figure” (oil on canvas – 165cm x 150cm) by carrying it through a range of public and private spaces. Heather Anderson spoke to van Thanh Rudd and Tamara Winikoff, Executive Director of NAVA.