A Danish art project called “Through Other Eyes” has been deemed racist by festival organizers in Sweden and has been pulled from the Malmö Festival. Over 200 Swedes signed a petition calling the performance art racist.
“Through Different Eyes” invites the public to have their appearance altered by make-up artists so that they can temporarily assume a different ethnicity or gender. Participants are then invited to walk around in a crowded public space to experience the feedback they receive when in someone else’s skin.
“This is a project that celebrates diversity. We work with make-up artists and provide all kinds of transformations: from white to brown, brown to white, man to woman and woman to man. We are also looking in to transforming from young to old to address the age discrimination,” said Morten Nielsen the man behind the project.
Festival goers said the project resembled offensive blackface performances.
“We apologise if people feel aggrieved and we have taken the criticism seriously. This part of the programme took an unexpected turn and we have decided to cancel it,” organiser Pella Ström wrote on the festival’s website.
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