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International artists and global citizens express their solidarity in a protest against the removal of “Statue of a Girl of Peace” from the Aichi Triennale 2019 by posting photos of themselves on social media posing in the same position as the comfort woman depicted by the statute. The photos are being posted under the hashtag #aichitriennale.
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Statement cites freedom of expression issues while protesting threats of violence and intimidation
Seventy-two artists from around the world taking part in the Aichi Triennale 2019, a major international art event in Japan, issued an artists’ statement on the morning of Aug. 6 protesting and denouncing the closure of the venue for “After ‘Freedom of Expression?,’” a feature exhibition featuring a statue of a young girl symbolizing a comfort woman. In a message titled “Statement by the Artists of Aichi Triennale 2019 on the Closure of “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” the artists said, “[W]e have grave concerns about the occurrence of political intervention into the Triennale, as well as threats of violence against the exhibition and those involved in it.” “It is a fact that the exhibition received hundreds of intimidating phone calls after the opening of the Triennale, as well as a fax warning of an attack on the venue using gasoline and fire,” they continued, adding that they would “do everything in our power to resist such terroristic threats and intimidation.”
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A statement released by 72 artists denouncing the closure of the venue featuring the comfort woman exhibit
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A list of the 72 artists who partook in the statement
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