A provocative work of art by the artist Santiago Serra has been removed from the Spanish contemporary art fair Arco, before its beginning (21-25 February). For this reason, the mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena, did not take part in the inauguration ceremony, saying that “In Madrid there must be freedom of creation”. The work of art is titled “Political Prisoners in Contemporary Spain” (2018) and consists of 24 portraits of political figures imprisoned in Spain, including Oriol Junqueras deposed Deputy Catalan President, Raul Garcia and Alfonso Lazaro who were arrested in 2016 because they mentioned the words of ETA during a performance. The organizers asked the art gallery owner Helga de Alvear to remove the work. The artist interviewed stated that "The decision damages the image of the international fair", adding, “We believe that this type of actions give reason to exist in works like mine, of denunciation of the climate of persecution that cultural operators suffer in this period”. Ifema, the company that runs the Arco fair, defend themselves: “We wanted to avoid controversy”. Meanwhile, what Madrid refuses, however, is accepted by Catalonia: the Museu de Lleida will expose the work of Santiago Serra, “If someone offers you a job that is at the center of a controversy, you can not say no”, has said Josep Giralt, director of the museum. The work will be exhibited from next week.