Australian artists ask Venice Biennale to exclude Israel

Australian performance artist, Mike Parr, who was dropped by his Melbourne gallery over a piece commenting on the war in Gaza, is among thousands of artists, curators and critics who have signed an open letter calling on the Venice Biennale to exclude the Israeli national pavilion from this year’s contemporary art fair.

Italy’s culture minister firmly backed Israel’s participation after an online letter was signed by more than 17,000 people, which included current and past Biennale participants as well as winners of the Turner Prize, an annual prize presented to a British visual artist.

Parr represented Australia at the Venice Biennale in 1980 along with Kevin Mortensen, Tony Coleing – a benchmark that most Australians regard as having made it in the art world. He returned to Venice in 2015 for the installation, The Ghost Who Talks at the Palazzo Mora.

The Venice Biennale exhibition in Venice, Italy in 2019.Credit: AP

In December, the Melbourne gallery owner Anna Schwartz parted company with Parr after a 36-year relationship, after she said the artist’s piece commenting on Israel’s military action in Gaza represented a “serious breach of trust and difference of values”.

Other noted Australian signatories include Agatha Gothe-Snape, an artistic associate with the Powerhouse Museum, Indigenous artist and activist, Richard Bell, photographer Hoda Afshar and Western Australian artist Abdul-Rahman Abdullah.

Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano expressed solidarity with Israel in a statement on Tuesday, saying it “not only has the right to express its art but has the duty to bear witness to its people precisely in a moment during which it was struck hard by merciless terrorists”.

The Israeli culture minister, Miki Zohar, affirmed Israel’s participation and thanked Sangiuliano for “his strong, professional support”.

“Art is a bridge between cultures and between people – and we will continue to firmly set out against attempts to boycott Israel in international forums,” Zohar said in a statement.

The Biennale ruled out excluding Israel or Iran, the object of a second petition, saying that any country recognised by the Italian government may request to participate.

The letter, by an ad-hoc group called “Art Not Genocide Alliance,” noted that the Biennale had discouraged South Africa’s participation due to the apartheid state from 1950-1968 and put a ban in place after the US resolution suspending “exchanges with the racist regime” until apartheid ended. It also noted the Biennale’s support for Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion. Russian artists withdrew their participation in 2022, and the Biennale said Russia did not request to participate in this year’s edition.

“The Biennale has been silent about Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians,” the letter said. “We are appalled by this double standard.”

Signatories include the 2023 Turner Prize winner Jesse Darling, who participated in the 2019 Biennale, as well as Faisal Saleh, the director of the Palestine Museum US who said a proposed exhibit for this edition was rejected.

Israel is among 88 national participants in the 60th Venice Biennale of contemporary art, which runs from April 20-November 24. The exhibition in the Israeli Pavilion is titled “Motherland” by artist Ruth Patir.

Palestinian artists are participating in collateral events, and will appear in the main show, titled “Foreigners Everywhere” curated by Adriano Pedrosa, the artistic director of Brazil’s Sao Paulo Museum of Art.

with AP

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