Hundreds of artists, writers and actors on Monday sent an open letter to the UK’s Royal Academy of Arts accusing it of anti-Palestinian censorship after it removed two artworks from its Young Artists’ Summer Show.
The letter, written by Artists for Palestine UK, which includes members of the academy, described the decision as “shameful.”
The furor was caused by the academy’s decision to remove a photograph of a protester holding a placard that read: “Jews Say Stop Genocide on Palestinians. Not In Our Name.”
Visual artists Rosalind Nashashibi, Adam Broomberg, curator David Campany and writers Natasha Walter, Kamila Shamsie, Sabrina Mahfouz, Fatima Bhutto and Gillian Slovo were among those who said the decision had “stigmatized the work of the young artists” and helped bring about the “erasure of Jewish contribution to solidarity with Palestinians.”
Among the other signatories were fashion designer Bella Freud, director Mike Leigh, musician Brian Eno, actors Juliet Stevenson and Alia Shawkat, and several Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Socialists’ Group.
“Far from protecting Jews, the RA is lending support to a racist, anti-Palestinian campaign that aims to silence expressions of support for Palestinian people,” the letter said.
A spokesperson for Artists for Palestine UK said: “By failing to stand up to deplorable bullying and ludicrous accusations against young artists, the Royal Academy is in breach of its ethical responsibilities and duty of care. This needs urgent repair.”
In conjunction with the open letter, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign on Monday launched an online petition, which has been sent to its 300,000 supporters, asking them to write to the CEO of the Royal Academy to voice their opposition.
The PSC said that in silencing solidarity for Palestine, the academy was “complicit in shielding the state of Israel from accountability for its actions” and that it should not “be regarded as inherently illegitimate for artists to draw comparisons between one genocide and others in history.”
The decision to remove the artworks “violated its duty to uphold freedom of expression, and contributes to the dehumanization of Palestinian people and the erasure of the facts of their history,” it said.
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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