Sydney Festival chair calls on protesters to behave like ‘decent humans’

Katie Noonan calls out boycott trolls.

Katie Noonan. Picture: Cybele Malinowski

Sydney Festival chairman David Kirk has apologised to artists and called on activists to behave like “decent human beings” after the festival was targeted by a boycott campaign over a $20,000 sponsorship from Israel.

While the festival has held its ground on the sponsorship, some artists and festival staff had been subject to “emotionally damaging” attacks, Mr Kirk said.

Brisbane singer Katie Noon­an, due to give a concert later this month as part of the festival, said on social media she had been subject to “repeated, vigorous and quite aggressive” pressure to join the boycott.

Mr Kirk said attacks on individuals were unacceptable as he promised an independent review of the festival’s funding arrangements to avoid putting artists “in the position we have”.

The nine-member festival board had not anticipated the possibility of backlash from the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement for accepting sponsorship from the embassy of Israel, he said on Thursday.

Sydney Festival chairman David Kirk at his home. Picture: John Feder.

Judith Lucy joins the boycott of the @sydney_festival. Much thanks, love & solidarity pic.twitter.com/xtudNTFp86

— Tom Ballard (@TomCBallard) January 7, 2022

“We have a lot of work to do with artists and companies who feel let down. We publicly apologise to all artists, some of whom have felt they needed to withdraw their work and some … who felt under extreme pressure and compromised. We would never want to put artists in that position.”

Groups including the Pales­tine Justice Movement Sydney have led the campaign against the festival, saying it is complicit with the “apartheid state” of Israel for accepting the $20,000 to support a dance performance.

Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave has resisted the push to restrict art and creativity within limits defined by politics.

The group on Thursday continued to urge artists, festival staff and audiences to cancel performances, withdraw their labour or cancel tickets in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

More than 30 artists and companies have pulled out from an initial program of about 130 events.

Mr Kirk did not comment on the BDS movement but said some people had behaved inappropriately by targeting festival a

rtists and staff. “I would ask people to show respect and be a decent human being, when you are communicating with people who are doing their best to do their job in very difficult circumstances.”

The boycott would have only a “small” financial impact on the festival, he said; the much larger financial challenge was the Omicron outbreak in Sydney.

The rate of no-shows at festival events – where ticket-holders do not turn up – was 10-15 per cent and higher than in previous years, as people opted to stay at home.

The festival last year had a $1.6m surplus but ticket revenue plunged 55 per cent as events were cancelled in the pandemic.

Mr Kirk said there had been robust discussion among board members about the Israel sponsorship but declined to say whether any wanted the sponsorship funds returned.

After the festival ends, Mr Kirk said the board would prepare terms of reference and appoint two people to lead a review of processes and funding arrangements.