Israel’s representative at the Venice Biennale refuses to inaugurate her pavilion because of the war | Culture

The war in the Middle East managed to disrupt the opening of the Venice Biennale. By surprise, the Israeli pavilion at the great world event of contemporary art, whose 60th edition begins this week in the Italian city, remained closed despite the fact that, around it, the rest of the exhibitions organized for the occasion were opening their doors. . The decision to suspend the inauguration of the pavilion, scheduled for this Tuesday, belongs to those responsible, the artist Ruth Patir and the two commissioners of the project, who did not notify the Israeli Government, which has contributed half of the budget, according to what was announced The New York Times. “The artist and the curators of the pavilion will inaugurate the exhibition when an agreement is reached for the ceasefire and the release of hostages,” could be read on a sign hanging on the door, guarded by three Italian soldiers.

Calls for a boycott of Israel had multiplied since the beginning of the year, but the Venice Biennale confirmed the right of its artistic delegation to participate in the event and preparations continued. Nothing indicated that the exhibition would not open its doors this Tuesday. In fact, from the outside of the rationalist building, the work of the Israeli architect Zeev Rechter, a disciple of Le Corbusier and supporter of pilotis like his teacher, you could see the exhibition assembled and finished. “The exhibition is ready and the pavilion is waiting to be inaugurated. Art can wait, but the people who live in hell cannot,” said the pavilion’s curators, Mira Lapidot and Tamar Margalit, in a statement. “Six months have passed since the brutal attack on Israel and the beginning of the horrible war that ravages Gaza. “There is no end in sight, only the promise of more pain, loss and devastation.”

For her part, the artist stated in the same statement that she felt unable to present a project that addresses “the vulnerability of life” at a time that demonstrates “an unfathomable contempt for it.” “We have become news, instead of art being news. And, if they offer me such a remarkable scenario, I want it to be useful for something,” Patir expressed, shortly after, through her Instagram account. “I am strongly opposed to the cultural boycott, but I feel there are no right answers and I can only do what I can with the space I have, so I prefer to speak out alongside those I support when they shout: cease fire now and bring back the people from their captivity. “We can’t take it anymore.” Patir has not responded to this newspaper’s interview requests, while the organization of the Venice Biennale has limited itself to sending the statement from the Israeli pavilion.

Patir’s project for the Venice Biennale, (M)otherland, reflects on the pressure on women to become mothers, following the experience of the artist, who was diagnosed with a genetic mutation that increased her risk of suffering from breast and ovarian cancer. Born in 1984 in New York and living in Tel Aviv, Patir often works with 3D simulations and artificial intelligence. Among the works that she was going to present in Venice, was Keeningan animated video where ancient statues of fertility goddesses, fractured by the passage of time, parade in angry demonstrations on public roads.

Although its content is not explicitly political, Patir has said he was inspired by the current climate in his country, where he has participated in protests to demand an agreement on the hostages and force the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu. Patir is not a top name in contemporary art, but he has exhibited at the Gwangju Biennale and the Zurich Manifesta. His works are part of the collections of the Center Pompidou in Paris or the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

The war conflict has disrupted other cultural events in recent months, from the Oscar and Grammy ceremonies or the recent inauguration of the Whitney Museum Biennial in New York to the Eurovision Song Contest, in which pro-Palestinian activism believes that no Israel should be. The Venice Biennale has not been an exception, after months of tensions derived from its participation. In February, the group Art Not Genocide Alliance issued an open letter demanding the exclusion of the Israeli pavilion from the “diorama of nation-states in the Giardini,” the main venue of the Biennial. It was supported by 23,000 signatories, among whom were the photographer Nan Goldin and the representatives of Finland, Chile and Nigeria in this edition.

The group recalled that, faced with other political crises, the Venetian event did not hesitate to take action. For example, it sidelined South Africa until the apartheid in 1993. Likewise, in the 2022 edition, the Biennale made statements of support for Ukraine against “Russia’s unacceptable military aggression” and rejected “any form of collaboration with those who have carried out or supported an act of aggression.” so serious.”

On this occasion, the Biennial has adopted a different tone. “All countries recognized by the Italian Republic can autonomously request to officially participate,” the institution said in February in response to calls for a boycott. “Consequently, the Biennale will not be able to take into account any request to exclude the participation of Israel or Iran in the next exhibition.” In February, Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano also opposed calls for a boycott, which he called “unacceptable and shameful.” “Israel not only has the right to express its art, but also the duty to bear witness to its people at a time like this, when it has been hit hard by ruthless terrorists,” he said. “The Venice Art Biennale will always be a space of freedom, encounter and dialogue and not a space of censorship and intolerance. Culture is a bridge between people and nations, not a dividing wall.”

Palestine does not have a pavilion in Venice, as it is not a state recognized by Italy, but several Palestinian artists are part of its main exhibition, Foreigners anywhere, which is headed by the Brazilian Adriano Pedrosa, the first commissioner from the global south to assume this role. The Spanish pavilion in Venice will be inaugurated this Wednesday, with the artist Sandra Gamarra, born in Peru and resident in Madrid, as the first Latin American to represent Spain at the great contemporary art event.