Arabic version: جامعة تسمانيا تغلق معرض كودي غانغيل-سميث بعد فحص للسلامة

According to ABC News, the University of Tasmania has cancelled queer Palawa/Pakana artist Cody Gangell-Smith’s debut solo exhibition, Radical Faggotry, after a Work Health & Safety inspection found non-compliant electrical items.

The exhibition was part of Hobiennale, a four-day art program held from October 29 to November 1. The month-long show opened at UTAS’s Centre for the Arts building on Hunter Street but was shut the following day. It explored queer identity, politics and culture.

Before the opening, UTAS received complaints over the work’s visibility from the street. Professor Alexandra Lasczik, head of the university’s Creative and Performing Arts School, wrote that the artwork had not been authorised for installation in that location and that concerns had been raised about unrestricted public visibility.

Gangell-Smith said he covered windows and censored some works before opening. He said the electrical items cited were Kmart LED fairy lights that had not been tested and tagged, while a subsequent building inspection found university-supplied extension cords were also out of date on testing and tagging.

Professor Lasczik said the university’s concerns related to process and public safety, not the content. Hobiennale co-director Feras Shaheen said the festival’s programming, curatorial and creative decisions were not subject to university approval. Artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele said the closure had drawn attention to what she called UTAS’s outdated censorship practices.