Art Not Genocide Alliance says any work depicting Israel is an “endorsement of its genocidal policies” in Gaza.
Thousands of artists, curators and museum directors have called for Israel to be excluded from this year's Venice Biennale art fair and accused the exhibition of “positing a state of genocidal apartheid.”
Israel has been facing growing international criticism, including in the art world, for its military offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians since October 7.
The Non-Genocide Art Alliance (ANGA) said the Biennale, a major international art exhibition, two years ago banned anyone linked to the Russian government following the invasion of Ukraine, but took no action against Israel as it continues its war in Gaza. .
“The Biennale has remained silent on Israel's atrocities against the Palestinians. “We are dismayed by this double standard,” ANGA said in an online letter that had been signed by more than 12,500 people as of Tuesday.
He said the Biennale had also previously banned South Africa under its system of apartheid and white minority rule and pointed to the fact that major human rights groups today consider Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian lands “a cruel system of apartheid.” and a crime against humanity.”
“It is unacceptable to use artistic platforms that represent a state involved in continuous atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza,” said the international collective of artists and cultural workers.
He called “any official representation of Israel on the international cultural stage” and “any work that officially represents the State of Israel” an “endorsement of its genocidal policies.”
Israel rejects any accusation that its actions amount to genocide. The International Court of Justice determined that it is “plausible” that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Israel to take all possible measures to prevent genocide.
'Shameful'
Italy's Culture Minister condemned ANGA's letter as “unacceptable” and “shameful,” saying it “threatens freedom of thought and creative expression.”
“Israel not only has the right to express its art, but it has the duty to bear witness to its people at a time like this, when it has been struck by surprise by ruthless terrorists,” Gennaro Sangiuliano said in a statement.
The Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel responded with relentless bombing and a ground invasion of Gaza. More than 29,000 people have been killed in the Israeli attack, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Sangiuliano affirmed that the Biennial, which will begin on April 20, “will always be a space of freedom, encounter and dialogue, and not a space of censorship and intolerance.”
ANGA said: “Art does not occur in a vacuum (let alone in a “pocket”) and cannot transcend reality.”
“There is no freedom of expression for Palestinian poets, artists and writers who are murdered, silenced, imprisoned, tortured and prevented by Israel from traveling abroad or within the country. There is no freedom of expression in Palestinian theaters or in the literary festivals closed by Israel. There is no freedom of expression in the museums, archives, publications, libraries, universities, schools and homes of Gaza bombed to rubble. There is no free expression in the war crime of cultural genocide,” he stated.
Among the signatories of the appeal are the American director of the Palestine Museum, Faisal Saleh, the American activist photographer Nan Goldin and the British visual artist Jesse Darling, who won the Turner Prize last year.
Dubbed the “Olympics of the art world,” the Biennale is one of the major events on the international art calendar. This year's edition, “Foreigners Everywhere,” will host pavilions from 90 countries between April 20 and November 24.
