Nadine Osman
Oscar, Emmy, Olivier, and Bafta winners have joined over 1,500 British and Irish actors, writers, artists, directors, critics, musicians, and playwrights in signing a petition demanding that art institutions stop censoring pro-Palestinian artists and individuals in the cultural field.
Oscar winner Olivia Colman, Emmy Award winner Harriet Walter, Olivier Award winner Juliet Stevenson, Nicola Coughlan of Derry Girls and Bridgerton, and BAFTA award winner Aimee Lou Wood are among the most well-known signatories.
In the letter published on November 30, the artists argued that instead of supporting calls for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation, West-based art institutions are “systematically repressing, silencing, and stigmatising Palestinian voices and perspectives.”
Among examples of censorship, the letter cites Lisson Gallery’s ‘postponement’ of a London exhibition by Ai Weiwei; the Folkwang Museum in Essen’s last-minute cancellation of curator Anais Duplan’s Afrofuturism exhibition; the Saarland Museum’s cancellation of a solo exhibition by artist Candice Brietz, both in Germany; and the announcement by Hollywood producers that they had dropped actor Melissa Barrera from Scream VII.
In each case, the institution attributed the cancellation to comments made by the artist in support of Palestinian rights that were unrelated to their professional work.
“The scale of violence unfolding in Gaza demands our collective attention and action. Members of Israel’s far-right government are openly calling for ethnic cleansing.
“The use of starvation as a weapon of war, along with the denial of water and electricity, is cruel beyond words. The wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure, the bombing of hospitals, schools, churches, and mosques, and the killing of 14,500 people in a matter of weeks amount to a policy of collective punishment against the Palestinian people. The United Nations and hundreds of legal scholars have called on the international community to prevent genocide.
“As artists, we cannot remain silent in the face of such egregious violations of international humanitarian law.”
Letter signatory Hassan Abulrazzak, whose play ‘And Here I Am’ based on the life of a Palestinian actor was cancelled in Paris in October, said: “This censorship is as frustrating as it is wrongheaded. Now is the time to listen to Palestinians and understand what their lives are like.”
The letter cites several other “notorious incidents of censorship” by art institutions since the conflict began on October 7, including:
The International Documentary Festival Amsterdam condemned protesters at its opening night on November 8 for holding up a banner that said, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and read, “We believe that this slogan should not be used in any way or by anybody anymore.” Several participants in the festival have withdrawn their work in protest, including the Palestinian Film Institute.
The call by Lars Henrik Gass, the director of the 2024 International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, on the festival’s official Facebook page to attend a Zionist rally and vilify Palestinians, and Gass’s subsequent cancellation of the festival’s themed programme by curators signing a protest letter.
There were cancellations of book events, including the appearance of Palestinian writer Adania Shibli at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
The German city of Bochum rescinded the Peter Weiss Prize to British author Sharon Dodua Otoo because of alleged support for the organisation Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), which supports sanctioning the Zionist state.
The letter also refers to the removal of Melissa Barrera from the film Scream VII and the funding cuts to the Oyoun Centre in Berlin by the state government.
Finally, they singled out British arts organisations for failing to show solidarity with the Palestinian people: “While catastrophe unfolds, we have observed a glaring absence of statements of solidarity with the Palestinian people from most UK arts organisations.
We find it deeply troubling and, frankly, indicative of a disturbing double standard that expressions of solidarity, which have been readily offered to other people facing brutal oppression, have not been extended to Palestinians.”
The letter concludes by saying, “To stay silent in the face of mass injustice and a worsening humanitarian crisis would be an abrogation of moral duty. To actively silence the principled artists and workers who do fulfil this responsibility is a failure to meet legal obligations on freedom of expression and anti-discrimination.”
Two thousand poets announced a boycott of the Poetry Foundation in the US after its magazine refused to publish a book review, they had commissioned. Artists and writers internationally have declared that they will no longer work with Artforum magazine, and editorial staff have resigned in response to the firing of Editor David Velasco, who had published a letter signed by 8,000 artists calling for a ceasefire and for ‘Palestinian liberation’.
The new director of the Swiss museum Kunsthalle Basel, Mohamed Almusibli, was subjected to a media witch hunt for signing a letter in support of Palestine published in Artforum.
On November 24, the UN office in Geneva issued a statement titled “Speaking out on Gaza/Israel must be allowed,” which expressed “alarm at the worldwide wave of attacks, reprisals, criminalisation, and sanctions against those who publicly express solidarity with the victims of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.”.
UN experts stated that “artists, academics, journalists, activists, and athletes have faced particularly harsh consequences and reprisals from states and private actors because of their prominent roles and visibility.”
Gabriel Frankel, UK legal officer at the European Legal Support Centre, which monitors incidents of repression against advocates for Palestinian rights, said: “We have seen workers in the sector push back and remain firm in their commitment to justice, and we encourage those who have any concerns to contact the ELSC for advice.”
Photos: Veteran award-winning actors Olivia Colman, Juliet Stevenson, and Harriet Walter are among 1,500 artists who have condemned art institutions’ repression of pro-Palestinian voices (Credit: Samarth/Vidhu Flickr; Raşid Necati Aslım/Anadolu Agency & Rahoul Ghose/PBS)
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