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<\/p>\nA regional community in Western Australia, which was the backdrop for the children’s book turned motion picture Runt, is grappling with how to “separate the art from the artist” after high-profile author Craig Silvey was arrested on child exploitation material charges.<\/p>\n
The author is also renowned for his books Jasper Jones and Honeybee.<\/p>\n
In York, 100 kilometres north of Perth, the council has removed some promotional material for the locally filmed movie Runt, but the shire president urged the community to remain proud of their involvement with the film.<\/p>\n
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Many people in York featured in the film. (Supplied: Court McAllister)<\/p>\n
Separating art from artist ‘challenging’<\/p>\n
York shire president Chris Gibbs said Runt, which hit Australian screens in 2024 and injected almost a million dollars into the community<\/a>, was a landmark production that positioned the shire as an ideal filming location.\u00a0<\/p>\n But he said the serious allegations against Silvey brought up difficult emotions.<\/p>\n “We’re now in a cultural environment worldwide where separating the artist from the art has become increasingly challenging,” Mr Gibbs said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I think every single one of us could look at our book collection or movie collection and probably go, OK, there’s something that’s happened with a person or persons from those pieces of art.\u00a0<\/p>\n “As a broader community, these are things we grapple with because of access to information now and the way that information can be disseminated to our communities.”<\/p>\n Chris Gibbs says it is challenging to separate the art from the artist. (Supplied: Shire of York)<\/p>\n Mr Gibbs urged the community to remain positive about its contribution to the film.\u00a0<\/p>\n “There were many of us in town who had a small part in the film. There were volunteers, people who donated set pieces \u2026 there’s a big piece of York in that whole production,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I think that it’s really important that we don’t put ourselves in a situation where we start to feel down about the positive things that we did with that piece of art.<\/p>\n “There’s still work there that the Shire of York and the people of York should be proud of.” York and its residents featured heavily in the film. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chloe Henville)<\/p>\n Memorabilia removed<\/p>\n Mr Gibbs said the shire decided to remove the promotional material to reflect the seriousness of the allegations.<\/p>\n “We recognise the seriousness of the charges involving Mr Silvey \u2026 matters involving child safety are deeply concerning,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We certainly don’t want a situation where people might feel uncomfortable because of what’s going on, so we’ll continue to monitor that.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The Shire of York will continue to monitor the situation. (Supplied: Court McAllister)<\/p>\n Silvey’s high-profile arrest also prompted the WA government to request the author’s books be removed from the curriculum while the investigation continued, and many bookstores took his work off their shelves.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/6f8f8e76c053f83cd7528a02c01b2d42.jpeg\")
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