3 minTo promote the nudes kept in the museums of the city, the tourist office of Vienna has created an account on the platform reserved for adults OnlyFans.
This social network specialized in erotic content presents the most beautiful nude works of the Austrian capital. A way to twist the blow to the diktat and censorship imposed by social networks.
"We finally found a way to show these things"
Helena Hartlauer, spokeswoman for the Vienna tourist office said: "If they can't be used on a communication tool as powerful as social media, it's unfair and frustrating. That's why we thought of OnlyFans: we finally have a way to show these things."
With the Covid-19 crisis, the city of Vienna has seen a sharp drop in the number of visitors to its museums, a complicated situation especially since the major social networks are putting obstacles in their way...
Facebook, Instagram and TikTok at the heart of censorship
The Vienna tourist office wants to show the absurdity of the algorithms set up by the big social networks. Last July, the TikTok account of the Albertina Museum was suspended because of the publication of a work by Japanese artist Nobuyoshi Araki showing a breast.
Instagram also cracked down in 2019 by deleting a painting by Peter Paul Rubens.
In 2018, Facebook had deleted a photo of the Venus of Willendorf published by the city's natural history museum. Facebook had considered this image to be akin to pornographic content.
The Leopold Museum posters in the London Subway in 2018
Another striking example with the Leopold Museum that had difficulty in promoting its exhibition of Egon Schiele's nudes in 2018. Indeed, English and German advertisers refused to promote this Egon Schiele exhibition.
Finally, the Viennese museum had found the solution by using blindfolds to hide their private parts and the slogan: "100 years old but still too daring today."
The first subscribers to the OnlyFans account will receive free tickets
In the description of the OnlyFans account, which is called "Vienna's 18+ content", it is stated that the first subscribers will receive a discount card for Viennese transport and a ticket to see one of the nudes affected by the censorship.
Vienna also wants to question Western society about the limitation of freedom by social networks: "We just want to ask ourselves: do we need these limitations? Who decides what is censored? It's not very transparent." said Helena Hartlauer.
She also added: "This marketing initiative is not the ultimate solution to solve the problematic relationship between the art world and social networks. But we want to fight for our values and for what we believe in."
