Politics1 min read

NSW council refuses to show world-renowned Gaza artwork over ‘unacceptable’ safety risk

By · Via The Guardian · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Shoalhaven City Council rejected the display of *Wall of Tears* at the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, citing safety risks to staff, visitors, and tenants. Organizers had agreed to council demands to shorten the event, stop advertising, and mandate RSVP entry behind locked doors. Despite compliance with these strict conditions, council chief executive Andrew Constance issued a final rejection without detailing specific security threats. The installation has now been relocated to Berry Uniting Church.

Key points

  • Local organizers agreed to severe security mandates, including evaluating armed guards, b…: Local organizers agreed to severe security mandates, including evaluating armed guards, before council officials blocked the event entirely.
  • Shoalhaven City Council declined to identify specific incidents or intelligence that trig…: Shoalhaven City Council declined to identify specific incidents or intelligence that triggered their public safety concerns.
  • The contentious exhibition was successfully relocated to Berry Uniting Church after being…: The contentious exhibition was successfully relocated to Berry Uniting Church after being barred from the council-run facility.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

A New South Wales local council has refused to show a world-renowned artwork about children killed in Gaza after asking organisers to investigate hiring “armed guards” to counter the risk of “community conflict” over the mural.

The group, Shoalhaven Friends of Palestine, was aiming to show the Wall of Tears installation by American artist Phil Buehler at the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery in Nowra on Tuesday, following the work being exhibited around Australia, including on the front lawns of Parliament House in Canberra in September.

The massive artwork pays homage to the 18,457 children killed in Gaza between 7 October 2023 and 19 July 2025 and was first shown in New York on 29 January to coincide with the second anniversary of the death of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old left to bleed out among the bodies of six family members after their car was targeted by an Israeli tank.

Shoalhaven city council asked the group to “investigate” the use of “armed guards” in a risk assessment seen by Guardian Australia. The perceived risks included “protest, counter-protest, community conflict,” and “verbal abuse,…

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