Catholic protestors have forced Swedish musician Anna Von Hausswolff to cancel two shows in Nantes and Paris, as the protests prompted security concerns.
The protestors claimed that Hausswolff’s music, which heavily features the pipe organ, is ‘satanist’ despite the show at Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Port church being organised in partnership with the Nantes diocese.
According to a tweet from the Nantes mayor, Bassem Asseh, the group caused the cancellation of the concert. He wrote: “A handful of intolerant radicals caused the cancellation of a concert in ND du Bon-Port scheduled in agreement with the Bishopric.
“Nothing authorised the expression of such censorship. This is not our conception of a social project based on dialogue and culture openness.”
Hausswolff also posted on social media and wrote on Instagram: “The far-right Catholic integrals won over art, but not over love. Here I am waiting inside the church while listening to about 50-100 integralists chanting and screaming outside the church’s doors, blocking the way for almost 400 people.”
As a result, the Swedish artist’s Paris show, that was set to take place this evening (Thursday) at Saint-Eustache church has been cancelled, due to the same concerns around security.
In a statement, Eli Commins, director of Le Lieu Unique, which is the cultural centre that promoted the Nantes show, said: “At 9:10pm, after several unsuccessful attempts to find a favourable outcome, it was necessary to decide, in agreement with the artists, not to open the doors to preserve the tower in these circumstances.”
Commins also described the event as “unacceptable” and “an attack on the freedom of creativity and expression”.
Image: Rafik Wahba on Unsplash