- The Israeli pavilion at the 2024 Venice Art Biennale will not open as planned due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The decision is a choice of solidarity with the families of the hostages and the large Israel community calling for change. [merkur.de, ansa.it, messaggeroveneto.gelocal.it, artnews.com, ynet.co.il, haaretz.co.il, nytimes.com, tagesspiegel.de, yahoo.com, lavanguardia.com, zeit.de, corrieredelveneto.corriere.it, repubblica.it, infobae.com, juedische-allgemeine.de, oggitreviso.it, epe.es, news.artnet.com]
- Artist Ruth Patir has been selected to represent the Israeli pavilion, but the pavilion will remain closed to visitors. [timeout.co.il, haaretz.co.il, ynet.co.il]
- Pro-Palestinian activists had called for the exclusion of the Israeli pavilion, but the organizers refused to ban Israel from the international art exhibition. [timesofisrael.com, tagesspiegel.de, zeit.de, investing.com, dailymail.co.uk, es.ara.cat]
- The decision to keep the Israeli pavilion closed was made by Patir, and two curators, Tamar Margalit and Mira Lapidot, without informing the Israeli government in advance. [messaggeroveneto.gelocal.it, artnews.com, timeout.co.il]
- Thousands of people, including many artists, demanded the exclusion of Israel from this year’s Art Biennale in a petition, accusing Israel of committing atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza. [merkur.de, artnews.com]
- The Italian Minister of Culture condemned the open letter and expressed his “deepest solidarity and closeness” to the State of Israel, its artists, and its citizens, stating that the Venice Biennale will always be a space of freedom, encounter, and dialogue, not a space of censorship and intolerance. [epe.es]
- Israel has faced mounting criticism over its military offensive in the Palestinian enclave, which was triggered by an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants, resulting in the deaths of more than 33,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Gazan medics. [investing.com, dailymail.co.uk]
Sources:
- merkur.de (German)
- ansa.it (Italian)
- messaggeroveneto.gelocal.it (Italian)
- artnews.com (English)
- ynet.co.il (Hebrew)
- haaretz.co.il (Hebrew)
- nytimes.com (English)
- tagesspiegel.de (German)
- yahoo.com (English)
- lavanguardia.com (Spanish)
- zeit.de (German)
- corrieredelveneto.corriere.it (Italian)
- repubblica.it (Italian)
- infobae.com (Spanish)
- juedische-allgemeine.de (German)
- oggitreviso.it (Italian)
- epe.es (Spanish)
- news.artnet.com (English)
- timeout.co.il (Hebrew)
- timesofisrael.com (English)
- investing.com (English)
- dailymail.co.uk (English)
- es.ara.cat (Spanish)
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