Belgian pavilion shuts as part of Venice Biennale boycott over Israel
The Belgian pavilion at the Venice Biennale closed its doors on Friday in protest against Israel's presence at the arts festival. The closure was confirmed by Sarah Vermeulen of Serenai, which handles press relations for the Belgian project.
Miet Warlop, who is representing Belgium at the Biennale with the exhibition performance It Never Ssst, made clear where she stands. "We refuse to share this platform with a genocidal state," she told VRT NWS on Friday.
The protest is being coordinated by the activist group Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA), which in March sent a letter to the festival's directors. The letter, signed by over 230 artists, demands that Israel be excluded from the event.
"The Venice Biennale's complicity with the attempted destruction of Palestinian life must end," the letter states. "No artist or cultural worker should be asked to share a platform with this genocidal state."
According to the Italian news agency Ansa, around twenty pavilions closed their doors on Friday, including those of the Netherlands, Egypt, Spain, Turkey, Qatar and the United Kingdom. A protest march took place on Friday afternoon, heading towards the Israeli pavilion.
A festival overshadowed by controversy
This year's Biennale has also been marked by geopolitical turmoil. The Italian minister of Culture refused to attend the opening ceremony in protest at the jury's decision to allow Russia to participate, a decision which also prompted the European Union to withdraw a 2 million euro grant. The jury resigned earlier this month.
Flemish Culture minister Caroline Gennez, who attended the opening of the Belgian pavilion earlier this week, voiced support for the protesting artists. "Countries that bomb museums, destroy churches and villages, and attempt to annihilate an entire culture have no place here," she said.
The Venice Biennale, the world's largest contemporary art exhibition, opens for the public on Saturday and runs until 22 November.
PHOTO © Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
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