Artists refuse to open Israeli pavilion at Venice Biennale until truce | Culture

The entrance to the Israeli pavilion, located in Venice’s Giardini, or Public Gardens, bears a sign stating this command decision, and the pavilion itself is guarded by three armed Italian soldiers.

According to The Guardian, Israel’s participation in this biennale has already been widely criticized.

In an open letter signed by more than 23 thousand artists from various countries of the world, there was a call for the Israeli pavilion to be removed from the biennale altogether, and the banning of the Republic of South Africa from participating in the biennale in 1968-1993 is cited as an example. period.

The fact was also mentioned here that following 2022 February. After Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian artists and the team of curators themselves refused to participate in the exhibition held that year.

Scanpix photo/Israel Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale

The pavilion in the Giardini displays the video work Keening by Israeli artist Rutha Patir, which can be seen through the glass of the pavilion. However, the rest of the (M)otherland exhibition, devoted to the theme of fertility, is inaccessible.

According to the artist herself, it is “very difficult for her to present a project that talks regarding the vulnerability of life at a time when no one respects it.”

Curators Mira Lapidot and Tamara Margalit say that six months following the brutal Israeli attack on October 7 last year. and the start of the horrific war in Gaza, with no end in sight so far, even on the contrary, they say, “more pain, loss and devastation are promised”.

“The exhibition is already open, and the pavilion is waiting to be opened. Art can wait, but women, children and people going through hell can’t,” the curators said.

Organizers of the Venice Art Biennale noted that the artists decided not to cancel the exhibition, but to stand in solidarity with the families of the hostages and the large Israeli community demanding change.

Meanwhile, Palestinian artists are presented in this jubilee Venice Art Biennale in the main exhibition and, together with artists from other countries of the region, in the additional exhibition “Southwest Bank”.

Dima Srouji, one of the artists participating in this exhibition, said that “for the Israeli pavilion, the ceasefire and the release of hostages may mean business as usual, but for all of us, it is 75 years of occupation and apartheid the status quo continuation. We are fighting for our liberation, not just for a ceasefire in 2024.”