US EditionV&A Removed Catalogue Materials at Request of Chinese Censors
Emails show the museum accepted the edits after printers warned the images could be rejected under Chinese censorship rules, delaying production by about a week.
- On Wednesday, the Victoria and Albert Museum agreed to remove a historic map and images from exhibition catalogues after Chinese printers, citing GAPP, rejected the content.
- Printing in China offers lower costs for institutions, but printers must adhere to Chinese government rules prohibiting content deemed sensitive by authorities.
- Internal emails revealed staff frustration; one wrote, "It's a historic map showing British colonial rule so nothing to do with China — just shows China on the map and that seems to be enough to warrant rejection!"
- The museum stated edits were "minor," though this follows a 2021 incident where it pulled a photograph of Vladimir Lenin from a Fabergé exhibition catalogue after printers flagged it as "sensitive."
- Other institutions maintain different standards; the Tate confirmed it has never changed book content for printers, while the British Library reported no censorship issues with catalogues printed in China.
8 Articles
8 Articles
The V&A catalogue row shows China’s censorship now travels through cultural supply chains
The V&A in Kensington. Yau Ming Low/ShutterstockWhen people think about censorship, they often imagine an obvious ban: a book prohibited, an exhibition closed, or a speaker silenced. But the recent revelation that London’s Victoria and Albert Museum changed exhibition catalogues at the request of its Chinese printer points to something subtler. It suggests that Chinese censorship is increasingly capable of shaping cultural production beyond Chin…
The V&A censored catalogue images following demands by printer in China
Read this exciting story from The Guardian April 15, 2026 issue. The Victoria and Albert Museum has accepted demands by the Chinese firm that prints its catalogues to remove images that fall foul of the country's censorship laws.
V&A Pulls Maps From Catalog In Accordance With Chinese Censorship Laws
V&A Pulls Maps From Catalog In Accordance With Chinese Censorship Laws. Why a museum catalog can become a censorship battleground The Victoria and Albert Museum in London removed maps and images from at least two recent exhibition catalogs after a Chinese print
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