Peking activists protest against art show ban

Press, 2 October 1979, Page 9

Peking activists protest against art show ban

NZPA Peking) Artists and activists rallied at "Democracy Wall" in Peking yesterday then marched on the city govern-! ment offices to protest against the suppression by) the police of an outdoor art exhibition. Singing and carrying posters, about 200 people marched town the footpath along the broad Changan Boulevard. On the orders of the police they changed course and marched around! the vast, rain-slick Tien An Men Square. The group included artists, I activists, staff of various unofficial youth publications, sympathisers, bystanders, and journalists. “If China is to have political democracy, it must also have democracy for art,” said the red and yellow banner carried at the head of the demonstration. Most Peking residents, however, were untouched by ,the tiny protest and filled parks on the drizzly morning to hear music and watch performances celebrating national day. The protesters are complaining about the prohibition of an outdoor art exhibition on Friday and Saturday by order of public security officers, or the police. Twenty-three artists displayed 144 works outdoors on the east side of the city,l but the police ordered them removed and arrived early ’on Saturday to prevent the paintings from going up. Officials said the group did not have a permit.

The Peking Artists Associ- ) ation has mediated and i promised to find a suitable ’ place and time for the exhiibition. I Youthful demonstrators, ’however, are demanding that the Revolutionary Committee, or city council, acknowledge that the police action was wrong and a violation of their rights. They also want a guarantee that they will be able to display their art. some of it containing political messages. Peking's leading unofficial magazine, "Explorations,” supported the artists. The magazine was due to go on sale in the afternoon at “Democracy Wall.”