In support of Bill Henson

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We the undersigned Australian citizens and their supporters hereby condemn the police raids of Australian galleries exhibiting work by the highly distinguished artist Bill Henson, whose work is held in the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Denver Art Museum; the Houston Museum of Fine Art; 21C Museum, Louisville; the Montreal Museum of Fine Art; Bibliothиque Nationale in Paris; the DG Bank Collection in Frankfurt and the Sammlung Volpinum and the Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna.

We reject the allegation that he is a child pornographer and we reject the allegation that Mr Henson's work is pornographic.

We demand that our elected representatives consider the damage this action is doing, not only to Australia's cultural reputation, but the creative souls of artists, their subjects and their audiencesboth here and abroad.

The signs of pre-emptive self-censorship in some galleries are not "the hallmark of an open democracy nor of a decent and civilised society. We should remember that an important index of social freedom, in earlier times or in repressive regimes elsewhere in the world, is how artists and art are treated by the state."1

No signatory to this petition endorses the sexual, emotional, psychological or physical abuse of children. Mr Hensons work has nothing to do with child pornography and " according to the judgment of some of the most respected curators and critics in the world, it is certainly art."2

Yes. It most definitely is.

1. Open Letter from Ms Alison Croggon, Writer, Melbourne, Australia
2. Ibid
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Goal
400 signatures
Goal: 100
Latest Signatures
13 January 2016
400. David B | I support this petition
13 January 2016
399. John M | В
8 January 2016
398. Glendyn I | I support this petition
6 January 2016
397. Vanessa R | I support this petition
6 January 2016
396. Cathy F | I support this petition
5 January 2016
395. Debra B | I support this petition
4 January 2016
394. Erika S | I support this petition
1 January 2016
393. Adair Orr | I support this petition
24 December 2015
392. Cherie H | I support this petition
18 December 2015
391. Bailliet Dixon | freedom of expression for art
18 December 2015
390. James M | I support this petition
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389. Jay L | В
17 December 2015
388. Geoffrey W | I support this petition
15 December 2015
387. Cathy H | I support this petition
14 December 2015
386. Maggie M | I support this petition
14 December 2015
385. Paul C | I support this petition
13 December 2015
384. Suzanne O | I support this petition
12 December 2015
383. John C | I particularly deplore the Prime Minister's intervention.
11 December 2015
382. Dr Arabellat | I support this petition
6 December 2015
381. Robert C | I support this petition
2 December 2015
380. Natalie F | I support this petition
2 December 2015
379. Tess M | В
1 December 2015
378. Dean W | I support this petition
28 November 2015
377. Nigel L | I support this petition
23 November 2015
376. Tracey Leem | I support this petition
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Petition target:
The Elected Representatives of Australia's State, Territory and Commonwealth Governments
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