Vivid festival has ended as a spectacular success with a record-breaking attendance in Sydney, but behind the scenes the relationship between the popular event and photojournalism festival Reportage has soured amid accusations of censorship and breaches of contract.

On the evening of the festival's opening, a number of photographs were pulled from two outdoor large screen exhibits by Destination NSW due to the subject matter being "too distressing or offensive", Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase described to Guardian Australia at the time.

The photographs were viewable, unrestricted, at various indoor exhibitions, however several high-profile photojournalists withdrew their work in protest at what they and the organisers of Reportage saw as censorship from the centrepiece display.

Much of the dispute centres on one clause of the agreement between Destination NSW and Reportage, which states that Reportage's exhibition must not bring the Vivid organisers or the state government "into disrepute" or "conflict with the brand" of the festival and its organisers.

"i.e. the Event elements must be family friendly, not of a violent nature and do not incite violence," the clause continues.

Acclaimed photojournalist James Nachtwey – whose famous, haunting image of a Rwandan genocide survivor bearing scars of a machete attack was on of the images pulled from the outdoor screen – told Guardian Australia this kind of photojournalism "discourages violence".

He said the photographers were selected for their integrity and commitment to human values, a free press and an informed citizenship.

"Too many of our colleagues have lost their lives because they believed it too," Nachtwey added.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/14/vivid-festival-censorship-reportage

Image at top: Blurred Vivid — a picture by Gus Leonisky