In Moscow, the festival of alternative art was canceled due to a denunciation

The annual festival of alternative art “OpenArt” has been canceled in Moscow. The ego site is also blocked. As reported by the organizers of the festival, they were forced to cancel due to reports received by state authorities. The denunciations claimed that the festival is extremist and offends the feelings of believers.

According to the publication Sota, the name of the author of the mourning is Alexander Alexandrov. He sent requests for an inspection of the festival to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Russia, the Investigative Committee, Rospotrebnadzor, Roskomnadzor, the Moscow City Hall and the owners of the site themselves. Aleksandrov emphasized that religious and LGBT topics will be mentioned at the festival.

Sota, who got access to the laments, gives excerpts from them. Aleksandrov draws attention to the fact that in the photos on the site, one of the artists “holds in her hands a picture very similar to Christian icons, one of which shows a female face instead of the face of Jesus Christ.” In addition, he mentions that within the framework of the festival there was to be a discussion with two American photo artists about photography as a mediator of social change. “One can only guess what kind of social changes the mentioned US citizens want for Russian photographers and Russia,” Sota quotes Aleksandrov as saying.

The organizers of the festival claim that the information specified in the application does not correspond to reality and is based on assumptions and unreliable facts. They reported that the prosecutor’s office warned the organizers of administrative and criminal liability in accordance with the laws “On countering extremist activity” and the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion.” Therefore, they decided to cancel the festival.

• The international festival “OpenArt” has been held in Moscow since 2018. It focuses on performance art, social interaction and workshops for everyone who wants to get involved in artistic creativity. This year, in addition to Russian artists and activists, participants from the USA, Georgia and Indonesia were invited to it.