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The Winchevsky Centre is hosting a provocative panel discussion, "Speaking Out: Jewish Artists Uncensored", featuring musician David Buchbinder, visual and sonic artist Reena Katz, theatre director Kate Lushington and filmmaker b.h. Yael. The panel will be moderated by Susan G. Cole, senior entertainment and book editor of NOW Magazine.
Last May, the Koffler Centre for the Arts ‘disassociated' themselves from an art exhibition it commissioned from artist Reena Katz, entitled ‘each hand as they are called', and sent a defamatory press release across the country falsely claiming that Katz supports the extinction of the State of Israel. The reason cited for the disassociation was Katz's personal political beliefs - a link to Israel Apartheid Week on her Facebook page - and not the content or artistic merit of her work.
While Katz did eventually produce this exhibit in an altered form this past October, the Toronto Arts Council subsequently determined that the Koffler was in violation of the City of Toronto's non-discrimination policy regarding an individual's right to freedom of political association. This panel discussion will explore such issues as censorship, artistic blacklisting, and freedom of expression.
