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Featured case image=130620-sochi-art-1.photoblog600.jpg EDIT PAGE Artist: Vasily Slonov Year: 2013 Date of Action: June 2013 Region: Russia and Central Asia Location: Russia's Perm Region Subject: Copyright, Political/Economic/Social Opinion Medium: Mixed Media, Painting, Photography, Sculpture Confronting Bodies: Perm Regional Ministry of Culture Description of Artwork: Vasily Slonov's exhibition "Welcome! Sochi 2014" presents various takes on Sochi 2014 olympic iconography in order to depict the social and labor injustices that have been associated with the coming olympic games. Some of the more high profile pieces include a mock-poster depicting the olympic rings as a series of interlocking nooses and a rough-looking hatchet with the Sochi 2014 logo emblazoned on the axe head. The Incident: The curator and director of the Perm Museum of Contemporary Art, Marat Guelman, was forced to leave his post after refusing to remove Slonov's "Welcome! Sochi 2014" exhibit. A week prior, Slonov's work was removed by Russian authorities from a cultural festival. Guelman, who organized the festival, responded by moving the exhibit into the Perm Museum. Guelman's twitter page suggests that he was fired from his post by Igor Gladnev, the Perm regional minister of culture. Authorities cited to unauthorized use of the Sochi 2014 logo as the reason Vasily Slonov's work was targeted. Results of Incident: Marat Guelman was fired from his position as director and curator of the Perm Museum of Contemporary art, but Slonov's "Welcome! Sochi 2014" remains on display. Source: • http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/21/19058345-russian-censors-target-olympic-themed-art-ahead-of-sochi-2014

What is Censorpedia? Censorpedia is an online encyclopedia of censorship cases involving the arts. You can: add a case browse by medium browse by subject view a random case Censorpedia aids the fight for free expression by providing a repository of censorship incidents, information about what is vulnerable to censorship, and a guide to strategies and tactics that have defeated past attempts at censorship. It hosts articles documenting censorship outbreaks: the who, what, when, where and why. Censorpedia builds on the 1994 art project/internet censorship archive The File Room. Initiated by Muntadas, The File Room was originally produced by Chicago’s Randolph Street Gallery with the support of the School of Art and Design and the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Since 2001 The File Room has been hosted and maintained by the National Coalition Against Censorship.