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Italy’s culture minister said on Tuesday that this year’s Venice Biennale would not exclude Israeli participation, despite thousands of artists signing an open letter calling for the festival to participate.
The letter called Israel’s presentation at the arts festival a “genocidal pavilion” and accused the biennale of “promoting a genocidal apartheid state.” The Biennale also commented on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but has not yet issued a statement on the Gaza Strip, where nearly 30,000 people have been killed since the October 7 Israeli-Hamas attack. “We have high standards,” he said.
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Past and present Venice Biennale participants signed the open letter, as did Turner Prize winners and other prominent artists.
The Biennale has not yet responded, but Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has indicated that the Israel pavilion will go ahead as planned.
In a brief statement issued earlier today, San Giuliano called the letter “disgraceful” and claimed the signatories threatened to destroy Italy’s liberal culture.
“Israel not only has the right to express its art, but at a time like this, when it is under cold-blooded attack by ruthless terrorists, it has an obligation to bear witness to its people,” he said in simple words. said in a statement. “The Biennale has always been a space of freedom, encounter and dialogue, not censorship or intolerance.”
Israel has had a pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 1950 and is one of the countries that regularly exhibits at the festival in its own building. Representing Israel this year is artist Ruth Patia.