New Media Frenzy over Depictions of Children

Art Monthly magazine is under attack in a new media frenzy over depictions of children in art.

Public engagement with art is an important right which needs to be respected, ” said Tamara Winikoff Executive Director of NAVA. “However, the moral panic over child pornography has lead child abuse campaigners off course. By creating a media furore over artistic representations of children, attention is being diverted away from the real problem; the failure of the police to curb real world child abuse.”Winikoff likened the attempts to prevent the depiction of children in art, to firemen trying to put out a fire by hosing the paintings in a building that’s burning down.
“It would be an unforgivable act of censorship to prevent production by artists of and public access to images of children through exhibition and publications. In doing so we would be imposing some sort of misguided puritanism,” Winikoff continued.

In order to help everyone to better understand their rights and responsibilities, NAVA had announced that it would include a checklist for artists working with children in the forthcoming third edition of the visual arts code of practice which sets the best practice standards for the industry.  However, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has put out a directive that the Australia Council must develop a set of protocols. NAVA will offer its assistance to the Council and take these protocols into account in relation to what is published in the art industry code.

NAVA still intends to produce an Art Censorship Guide to assist artists, galleries and funding bodies to deal effectively with controversy and complaints.