University cancels show by queer Aboriginal artist following complaint

The University of Tasmania (UTAS) has cancelled a debut solo exhibition by a queer Aboriginal artist over electrical safety concerns, following a complaint about the show's public visibility before it had opened.

Warning: This story contains content that may offend some readers.

Hobiennale is a four-day art program co-directed by Feras Shaheen and Nadia Rafaei. 

The event, which ran from October 29 to November 1, was founded by Tasmanian artist initiative Constance ARI.

This year was the first time it had run since 2019. 

As part of the program, gay Palawa/Pakana artist and activist Cody Gangell-Smith produced an exhibition titled Radical Faggotry, which was held at UTAS's Centre for the Arts building on Hunter Street.

On the festival's website, the exhibition is described as a "poofter-punk, homocore playground of politics and art, spanning gay sex, culture and identity" and was intended to run for one month.

Mr Gangell-Smith told 936 ABC Hobart that during the exhibition's set-up last Wednesday, a complaint was made about its content, which was visible to the public.

"Those issues were remedied and we did cover all of the windows, erect all of the signage that was to be set in place," he said. 

"But UTAS still requested that the works be removed and censored, and ultimately closed the exhibition."

Closure due to non-compliant electrical items

On October 28, the head of the UTAS Creative and Performing Arts School, Professor Alexandra Lasczik, wrote to Mr Shaheen saying she had not authorised Mr Gangell's artwork for installation at that location and the artwork needed to be removed from public view.

"Neither the nature of the content nor the curatorial decision to make it fully visible from the street was communicated to, or approved by, the School," Professor Lasczik wrote.

"Concerns have already been raised with me regarding its unrestricted visibility from a public street."

Mr Gangell-Smith told 936 ABC Hobart that despite having the show planned for months, he decided to censor some of the works hours before the show was set to open. 

The day after the exhibition's opening, Professor Lasczik emailed Mr Shaheen again saying "electrical items" had been found during an inspection that were not compliant with safety standards, and asked that the exhibition be closed immediately. 

According to Mr Gangell-Smith, the electrical items were LED fairy lights from Kmart, which had not been tested and tagged. 

He said a further inspection of the building found that extension cords supplied by the university were "also non-compliant and were significantly out of date on their testing and tagging".

Curatorial independence 'critical', festival says

Mr Shaheen said he had not seen the original complaint made about the show, and that Hobiannale's "programming, curatorial or creative decisions are not in our agreement with the university" and do not require UTAS's approval for content.

In a statement, Professor Lasczik said the university's concerns "were about process and public safety, not the content of the work". 

Professor Lasczik said the exhibition had been installed in a street-facing space that meant sexually explicit material was visible to children and the general public. 

"Had the organisers of the exhibition consulted the school on an appropriate approach to public display and adhered to basic WHS requirements, the exhibition would have proceeded," she said.

Artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele attended the exhibition during its brief run and said she did not see anything that felt inappropriate.

Instead, she said the university's decision to close the exhibition had turned the work into a performance and shone "a light on UTAS's outdated censorship practices".

"Ironically, they are collaborating with him,"

Ms Kaechele said.

"UTAS is unwittingly participating in his artwork. An unintentional collaboration."