Gaza Biennale comes to London in ICA protest
- Text by Cyna Mirzai
- Illustrations by Hamada El Kept, ‘Under Surveillance’, 2024
A viewing of the Gaza Biennale will be presented today (January 14) outside the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA).
The global project and exhibition, which brings together over 60 Palestinian artists and their work, will be digitally shown as part of a protest against the New Contemporaries exhibition at the London art institution and its funding by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Bloomberg Philanthropies has been accused of donating money to Israeli development initiatives, which protestors allege have been “directly implicated in facilitating settlement infrastructure in the West Bank”, according to a press statement.
Supported by organisations like ARTCRY and the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Gaza Biennale project began in April 2024 as a way to spotlight the diverse work of Palestinian artists, while calling for an end to ongoing atrocities in Gaza. The collective extend an open invitation to local and international institutions to host and produce exhibitions and work with them as partners.
In a press statement, the artists said the project marks a “creative step outside the traditional frameworks of exhibitions. It reflects the sensitivity and specificity of our situation, making it an urgent and exceptional event. At the heart of the artistic purpose is the struggle of a people to survive.”
The name of the project is a statement of intent that it will be a recurring event and that both Gaza and the artists will still be standing in two years’ time.
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