A group of Melbourne artists who have become caught up in the temporary closure of a St Kilda gallery linked to an alleged child pornography controversy say their work is being unfairly censored.

On Saturday morning a large crowd of protesters, which included St Kilda business figures, artists and local MP Martin Foley, staged a rally outside the Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts calling for an end to the censorship of the gallery’s Like Mike exhibition.

Linden has remained closed since police raided the gallery more than a week ago.

During the raid last Saturday, officers seized works by Melbourne artist Paul Yore which allegedly depicted images of sexual acts superimposed with children’s faces.