For artists, it's hard to think about the past year without thinking about the Israeli massacre in Gaza that has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians according to the official count or more. 220,000 according to estimates.
Although art is something to be enjoyed, because it enriches all aspects of our lives, our personality, and our culture, it is also important in struggle. Art is powerful, it helps us share ideas and stories with people around the world even if we don't speak the same language. Israel knows this, and that is why it looks for all those who have the talent and interest to spread the message about the dangers of Gaza.
Indeed, Israel seems to be making way in its massive ethnic cleansing to destroy Palestinians who not only inspire their own people, but anyone who fights against injustice.
Artists, painters, poets, artists, writers, designers… many talented Palestinians have already been killed. It is our duty to ensure that they do not forget. They are not numbers, and their work must always be remembered.
We need to tell people about Heba Zagout, a 39-year-old artist, poet and writer, who was killed along with her two children in an Israeli plane. His rich paintings of Palestinian women and the holy sites of Jerusalem were his way of communicating with the “outside world”.
We must mention the name of the famous artist and art teacher, Fathi Ghaben, whose beautiful works that captured the Palestinian resistance should be seen by all.
We need to teach the word a Refaat Alareerone of the most intelligent writers and teachers in Gaza who taught at the Islamic University of Gaza.
We must talk about beauty in art Mahasen al-Khatibwho was killed by an Israeli plane at the Jabalia refugee camp. In his final illustration, he honored 19-year-old Shaban al-Dalou, who burned to death during an Israeli attack on Al-Aqsa hospital.
We must also remind the world about the writer Yousef Dawwas, the novelist Noor al-din Hajjaj, the poet Muhamed Ahmed, the writer. Even al-Faranjiand photographer Majd Arandas.
However, ensuring that their stories and work are not erased also means that we must take action, wherever we are. Honoring these martyrs and celebrating their art requires us to go beyond words.
Some of the artists already know this. They have joined the resistance within the art scene and ensure that Israel's crimes are condemned on their platforms. There have been many successful and courageous acts throughout the past year.
When London's Barbican Center canceled Indian writer Pankaj Mishra's essay on the killings in Palestine in February, art collectors. Lorenzo Legarda Leviste and Fahad Mayet removed Loretta Pettway's artwork from the museum.
“It is up to all of us to endure institutional abuse, and demand transparency and accountability in the aftermath… We will not accept coercion, oppression and racism within its walls,” they wrote.
In March, Egyptian artist Mohamed Abla returned his Goethe Medal, awarded to him for excellence by Germany's Goethe Institut, in protest of the German government's actions in Israel's genocide.
Before the opening of the Venice Biennale in April, more than 24,000 artists from around the world – including Biennale participants and top prize winners – signed an open letter asking the organizers not to exclude Israel from the event. An Israeli artist finally decided not to open his exhibition.
In September, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri refused to accept an award from the Noguchi Museum in New York after she fired three works for wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves.
Earlier this month, the artist Jasleen KaurThe winner of the prestigious Turner Prize, used his speech to condemn the genocide, call for Palestinian freedom, ban arms and promote solidarity with the Palestinians. He stood in solidarity with all those who protested outside the Tate Britain in London, where the event was held, and called for the withdrawal of funds and services linked to the Israeli government.
“I want to repeat the words of the protestors outside. An exhibition made up of artists, cultural workers, Tate staff, students, who I agree with, “said Kaur. “This is not very important, this should not put the work or the safety of the artist at risk.”
Despite this agreement, the negative ban, neglect, repression and witch-hunt related to Palestine has not ended in the last 12 months.
In January, the Indiana University art gallery canceled an exhibition by Palestinian artist Samia Halaby.
In May, the town of Vail in Colorado banned the residency of artist Danielle SeeWalker, an African-American artist who compared the plight of the Palestinian people to the plight of the American people.
In July, the Royal Academy of Arts removed two pieces of art from their Summer Youth Exhibition because they were related to Israel's war in Gaza. This came after the pro-Israel Board of Deputies of the British Jewish Board sent it a letter about the cartoon.
In November, the Altonale festival in Hamburg canceled an exhibition of art made by children in Gaza after the exhibition was criticized.
These are just a few examples of the intense scrutiny that Palestinian art and artists and designers who have expressed their solidarity with Palestine have faced in the past year. Silence and sanity instead of culture has also happened at the institutional level.
In the UK, Arts Council England (ACE) warned arts organizations that “politics” could undermine funding agreements. This was revealed in a Freedom of Information request by Equity, which also revealed that ACE and the Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DMCS) also met about “a serious threat related to the Israel-Gaza conflict”.
Some pointed out the contradiction of ACE's actions because it publicly indicated cooperation with Ukraine in 2022 after the Russian invasion. But it is not only ACE that has shown a clear double standard in dealing with the killings in Gaza.
The intellectual Palestinian artist Basma Alsharif described the social illusion well in her letter to the “Vapid Neoliberal Art World”.
He wrote: “I hope this murder finds you well.” What are you really doing these days? Why did it take you months to write a document, if you did? Why didn't you just shut up? Why can't you boycott Israel like you have Russia, like you did apartheid South Africa? Have you seen the number of sentences there? Open letters? Calling a strike? How many hashtags did you all think it would take to atone for your sins?
There is no justification for the massacre in Gaza. The Palestinian people are facing destruction and our responsibility to them is to ensure that our governments, institutions and industries are not left in peace until they cut ties with Israel, silence those who speak out against its crimes, and commit to the liberation of Palestine.
I encourage all those in the arts – a bag of those who were strongly represented in the exhibition outside the Tate when Kaur was given – to remember the words of the American writer James Baldwin:
“Therefore, the real work of the artist is to illuminate the darkness, to light the roads through the great forest, so that, in all our actions, we do not forget his purpose, which is to create the world. a place where many people live.”
Countries and their organizations can use financial chaos and platforms to block our cooperation, but in the end they will not win. Those who accept it for their personal and professional gains may try to convince themselves that the movement will die and this issue will be forgotten, but until Palestine is liberated – and this will happen – we keep the receipts, we see the lack. , we hear silence over Israel's massacre in Gaza. It's never too late to stand on the right side of history.
A happy new year will only be possible when the Palestinian people and all those who are oppressed are free.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect Al Jazeera's influence.