Controversial Mural of Veiled Woman Sparks Debate in Grenoble, Loses Funding

The controversy is swelling around the fresco of a veiled woman, present in Grenoble, for several months now. "In place for eight months, why does the fresco bother so much today?, wonders Jérôme Catz, founder and director of the "Street art fest" festival in a press release: "This work carries an engaged message, indeed. The name of the work is "Bad religion?", as if the artist was asking if there are people who are stigmatized today because of their religion. For me, it’s clearly a matter of media-political agenda, which curiously coincides with the presidential election."

Last Thursday, this work by the street artist Goin was vandalized: the woman’s face and the star were covered in black paint, reports France Bleu. In the wake of this, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region withdrew its subsidies (10,000 euros, out of a total budget of 600,000) from the "Street art fest Grenoble Alpes" festival. Yet there is no correlation between this festival and the work of the artist Goin. "Beyond the historical lie conveyed, this artistic provocation as unacceptable as dangerous only serves the extremes and constitutes an incitement to hatred and violence," justifies the region in a press release.

The festival director asks the region to revoke its decision: "Any normally constituted person, who makes a decision on false information, goes back on it. Or else it’s dishonest, but far be it from me to think they’re dishonest, or it’s a pretext, but I don’t see what they could blame us for."