We've been super excited for the opening of this year's The Open, the more-out-there precursor to the annual Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA). Unfortunately, our enthusiasm was significantly deflated when the opening event was mired in controversy last night.

Iranian photojournalist Newsha Tavakolian's show I Know Why the Rebel Sings, depicting humanitarian tragedies around the world, opened at 72-13, with 15 images censored by the MDA (appearing on the walls as black boxes). According to The Open's blog, the original number was 33, but as the original scope of the exhibition was reduced by the curator, 15 of the images had to be removed.) Festival director Ong Keng Sen told attendees at the opening that the festival was notified three days prior to the opening and no reason was given. (The show has an Advisory 16 rating.)

According to his statement, the photos removed depicted female Kurdish soldiers fighting against ISIS in Iraq. Many of the images appeared in a photo essay by Tavakolian in an April 2015 issue of Time magazine, which, in a confusing contradiction, was not censored in Singapore. The photo essay can be accessed here.

The MDA has not yet released a statement in response to its decision, but we will update this post when and if a response is released.

It's not the first time art in museums and galleries has been censored in Singapore, but the breadth and timing of this incident is particularly surprising. The festival, sponsored by the National Arts Council, is the biggest arts event on the annual calendar and is generally well regarded for its diversity of ideas.

The photographer and the curator Vali Mahlouji chose to run a censored exhibition, and you can hear more on why at their joint talk on Jun 29, 7:30pm.