An artist and anti-Chinese Government activist has accused the National Gallery of Victoria of "self-censoring" after it declined a request to host an event that will feature a talk about democracy and Hong Kong.

Key points: The NGV is hosting an exhibition featuring Chinese historic and contemporary art

The NGV is hosting an exhibition featuring Chinese historic and contemporary art The talk coincides with ongoing pro-democracy protests across Hong Kong

The talk coincides with ongoing pro-democracy protests across Hong Kong The Melbourne Museum and other venues also declined to host the event

Chinese dissident and Cantopop singer Denise Ho and cartoonist and pro-democracy campaigner Badiucao approached the gallery to host their event, Art and Resistance.

Pro-democracy protests have raged for months in Hong Kong — which escalated to a new level of violence on Sunday night when police pointed guns at protesters and fired a warning shot.

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Those demonstrations have had a ripple effect in Australia, bringing tensions to the boil in the Chinese community.

Badiucao has accused the NGV of declining to host the event on political grounds, claiming its concerns over security was not the real reason behind their decision.

"Art should be the front line defending free speech," he posted on social media.

"'Security' concern is just an excuse [to] keep trouble away from tourists [visiting the] NGV's terracotta warriors show."

Ms Ho tweeted: "Self-censorship is real. If everyone turns away due to fear, what will our world become?"

The NGV is currently hosting a dual exhibition featuring the historic terracotta warriors alongside work from contemporary Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang as part of its winter masterpieces series.

The exhibition is a joint project between the gallery and Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, Shaanxi History Museum, Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Centre and Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum of the People's Republic of China.

Australian artist Badiucao, whose satire is a persistent thorn in the side of Beijing, removed his mask for the first time in an ABC documentary on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

In November last year, Hong Kong organisers cancelled an exhibition by the dissident artist, following what they said were threats made by Chinese authorities.

The NGV previously hosted a major exhibition of work by Chinese dissident and artist Ai Weiwei, who is a vocal critic of the Chinese communist Government and whose art openly criticises the Government's record on human rights abuses.

Badiucao told the ABC that he believed the gallery didn't want the event to "bring trouble to their ass-kissing flagship program on China".

ABC contacted the NGV multiple times for comment.

Other Melbourne venues declined to host talk

Organisers also approached Melbourne Museum and Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre to host the event, but those requests was also declined.

In an email from Melbourne Museum to the organisers, which the ABC has seen, they cited "the nature of your event" for their decision.

The event will now be held at the Melbourne City Conference Centre.

A similar event, also featuring Ms Ho, is being held at the Sydney Opera House on September 1.

Hong Kong demonstrations continue

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 27 seconds 27 s Police point their guns toward demonstrators during a street protest in Hong Kong.

The protests, which started over a now-suspended extradition bill and evolved into demands for greater democracy, have rocked Hong Kong for three months and plunged the city into its biggest political crisis since the 1997 handover of rule from Britain to China.

They also pose a direct challenge for Chinese Communist Party leaders in Beijing, who are eager to quell the unrest ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1.

Beijing has sent a clear warning that forceful intervention is possible, with paramilitary forces holding drills just over the border in Shenzhen.

Pro-democracy demonstrators have regularly taken to the streets and multiple venues, including the airport.

Protests favouring both the pro-democracy side and Beijing have been held in multiple Australian cities in recent weeks, including two in Melbourne.

Those protests have seen scuffles break out and heated exchanges between pro-Hong Kong and pro-Beijing camps.