The announcement of a long-overdue ceasefire in Gaza is welcome news. It’s been one of the key demands of people mobilising around the world, including many from the creative community who’ve used their platforms to criticise Israel’s bombardment, demand humanitarian access and call for respect for human rights. Artists have paid a high price for speaking out, facing censorship and negative repercussions. Meanwhile, in Gaza itself, artists continue to work in incredibly difficult circumstances to document their experiences and tell their stories. A planned Gaza Biennale aims to showcase their vital work. Arts institutions should support it.

The ceasefire agreement just announced between Israel and Hamas is a welcome and long-overdue development. It’s an opportunity to end the bloodshed, protect civilians and uphold international law. It must be followed by full and immediate humanitarian access and must be the first step towards a full peace process that ends violence and leads to lasting regional stability.

The ceasefire is welcome news for the many around the world who’ve been calling for an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza and respect for the human rights of Palestinians. That includes many in the creative community – artists in every field imaginable – who’ve been among the most vocal, using whatever platforms they have to call for Israel to stop the killing and raise funds for the humanitarian effort, risking backlash for doing so.

Thousands of writers – among them winners of pretty much every literary prize on offer –signed an open letter pledging not to work with Israeli cultural institutions that refuse to speak out about the slaughter. In the USA, famous names from the film and music industries are among those backing Artists4Ceasefire. The campaign calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the safe return of all hostages. In the UK, musicians and DJs have come together in the Artists for Gaza initiative and are holding fundraising events for UNICEF’s Gaza appeal. On Bandcamp, International Artists for Gaza has brought together numerous musicians to release nine fundraising compilations.

Censorship and backlash

World-renowned photographer Nan Goldin is no stranger to speaking out, having led the campaign to hold the Sackler family to account for their leading role in causing the opioid crisis in the USA. When a retrospective of her work opened at the German national gallery in Berlin in November, Goldin used her speech to condemn Israel’s war on Gaza and Germany’s support for it. Goldin, who comes from a Jewish family, has been outspoken about Israel’s assault on Gaza and Lebanon. She also called out Germany’s sweeping censorship of voices critical of Israel.

Her speech came shortly after the German parliament passed a resolution stating that projects and organisations shouldn’t receive funding if they deemed to spread antisemitism, question Israel’s right to exist or actively support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. This was a deeply disturbing move that echoed the rhetoric of the Israeli government, which conflates any criticism of the state of Israel with antisemitism.

There should be no place for antisemitism – but criticising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his government or the Israeli armed forces doesn’t amount to it. The BDS movement calls for pressure on Israel until it recognises the same rights for Palestinians as Israelis and respects international law – including International Court of Justice rulings and United Nations resolutions. These are demands rooted in human rights and justice.

The German resolution can only encourage self-censorship and make it easier for supporters of Israel to equate criticism with antisemitism. In August, 150 Jewish artists and academics criticised the resolution, saying that by associating all Jews with Israel’s actions, the resolution itself could be considered antisemitic.

But the resolution and other measures by German institutions have had an impact. In the same week as Goldin’s speech, the Schelling Architecture Foundation rescinded a €10,000 (approx. US$10,300) prize it had awarded to artist James Brindle because he’d signed an open letter supporting an academic and cultural boycott of Israel. The foundation cited the parliamentary resolution in explaining its decision.

Brindle is far from alone. Since the start of the current phase of the conflict, over 200 people and institutions in Germany, including artists, have experienced some form of repercussion, such as having contracts cancelled, losing awards or being disinvited from events, because of their stance on Israel. This has been accompanied by a systematic ban on protests in solidarity with Palestine, backed by arrests and security force violence when peaceful protests have taken place, and police raids on the homes of members of groups that speak out about Palestine.

Goldin has also faced repression, In October, she was arrested along with award-winning documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras and around 200 other activists at a sit-in outside the New York Stock Exchange called by Jewish Voice for Peace. The protest drew attention to the rising stock prices of US arms companies that are supplying Israel. In November 2023, Goldin took part in a sit-in at the Statue of Liberty to call for a ceasefire. She also cancelled a planned project with the New York Times Magazine, saying the newspaper was biased towards Israel in the conflict.

There’s broader concern about censorship and self-censorship. In December 2023, an open letter signed by over 1,500 artists under the banner of Artists for Palestine accused arts organisations in the global north of systematically silencing Palestinian voices, citing examples such as the cancellation of exhibitions and lectures and artists being told not to mention the conflict by awards ceremony organisers.

In the UK last year, over 750 artists signed an open letter criticising the Royal Academy of Arts after it removed two artworks related to the conflict from its annual summer show. In September, a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre was abruptly cancelled, apparently following objections to its references to Palestine and trans rights.

The UK’s main cultural funding body, Arts Council England, issued a warning in May 2024 about those it funds making ‘political statements’, following a discussion with the government about the conflict. This was in stark contrast to its response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when it expressed its support for artists showing solidarity with their Ukrainian colleagues and emphasised the role culture could play in putting pressure on Russia. Once again, the double standards of global north countries towards the two conflicts were on full display.

Cultural destruction

The ceasefire should bring a much-needed pause in the killing. New research suggests the death toll could exceed 64,000, 59 per cent of whom are children, women and older people. An estimated 1.9 million people – almost the entire population of Gaza – have been forced from their homes. The healthcare system has been devastated, with hospitals bombed and medical staff killed or detained by Israeli forces. All 12 universities have been bombed and 80 per cent of schools destroyed or damaged.

It’s also a scene of cultural devastation. Artists are among those killed in airstrikes. Museums, libraries, cultural centres, arts venues and bookshops have been pulverised. A preliminary assessment by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization published in December 2024 confirmed damage to 75 cultural sites, including 48 buildings of artistic or historic interest. In many cases the targeting seems deliberate. Last May, for example, footage circulated of Israeli soldiers setting fire to the library of Al-Aqsa University.

This destruction, like so many of Israel’s actions, violates international law. As an occupying power, Israel has an obligation to protect archaeological, artistic, cultural and historical sites, including under the Genocide Convention, the Geneva Conventions and the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Artistic and creative acts, and cultural spaces, have always played a key part in sustaining Palestinian identity in opposition to Israeli policies of violence, apartheid and colonisation. That’s why cultural practitioners and spaces have come under attack.

Gazan artists mobilise

Even with a ceasefire in place, these may seem like strange conditions in which to plan an arts festival. But a group of Palestinian artists, working with international counterparts, plan to do just that. Spearheaded by the Forbidden Museum, which is developing exhibitions with over 40 artists in Gaza, the plan is to hold a Gaza Biennale to highlight art from Gaza, both within the territory and in galleries abroad. Gazan artists want to showcase their resilience and creativity, even in the most desperate of times, and highlight the immense suffering of people in Gaza. Art may seem low on the list of priorities, but there’s surely nowhere in the world where art has more to say and artists’ voices need to be heard more than in Gaza.

In incredibly difficult circumstances, artists in Gaza have carried on making art, joined by artists in the diaspora, including those who’ve managed to flee the destruction. Those in Gaza may lack the basic necessities, but they’re working with what they can find. Khaled Hossain makes clay sculptures, places them on bombsites, photographs them and then destroys them. Raed Issa, who has been displaced many times, has turned his tent into an open studio where children can work with paints made from improvised materials such as hibiscus, tea and rust. Ayman Al Hossary paints words and poems on tents and ruined buildings. There are many others working to document the devastation and the experiences of those who’ve lived through it. In November, a gallery in Amman, Jordan, put on an exhibition of 79 works smuggled out of Gaza.

Voices from the frontline

Omaid Sharifi is president of ArtLords, a grassroots artivist collective seeking to harness the transformative power of art, which began in Afghanistan in 2014.

 

The Gaza Biennale is a groundbreaking initiative that highlights the creativity and resilience of Palestinian artists living in some of the most difficult conditions in the world. It showcases a wide range of art, from large-scale murals depicting the daily struggles of life in Gaza to contemporary installations exploring themes of loss, hope and cultural identity.

One of the standout pieces is a mural of children flying kites against the backdrop of a bombed-out building, symbolising both fragility and the enduring sense of hope. Another striking installation uses fragments of demolished houses to create a mosaic, representing the persistence of life in the midst of destruction.

The Biennale goes beyond showcasing art. It seeks to connect global audiences with the lived experiences of Palestinians, fostering empathy and solidarity. Through the universal language of art, it wants to inspire movements for justice and peace. It demonstrates that creativity can transcend borders and unite people around shared values.

 

This is an edited extract of our conversation with Omaid. Read the full interview here.

The planned Biennale faces enormous challenges, including that of transporting art across borders that have been closed by Israel under the present phase of the conflict. Artists may need to send work electronically to be copied or rely on artists outside Gaza to reconstruct their works.

The plan has launched a fundraising appeal. It will also need the cooperation of international galleries, which can’t be taken for granted given that the Israeli state and its supporters smear any criticism as antisemitism, making any involvement controversial. Galleries may feel inclined to take the easy path to avoid potential negative publicity and threats to funding. This is happening at a time when artistic freedom and freedom of expression are under attack in many countries, as regressive forces seek to police and narrow what can be said and seen.

Arts institutions should be bolder. In the face of Israel’s attempt to rob Gazans of their humanity and identity, the proposed Gaza Biennale offers a defiant assertion of the right of Gazans, and Palestinians as a whole, to exist and have a voice. And the idea of a biennale suggests a recurring event, offering hope that Gaza will continue to exist and Gazans will survive to tell their stories. Arts bodies have a duty to support, collect and show Gazan art, and to shine a spotlight on the brave artists creating it.

OUR CALLS FOR ACTION

  • Governments should respect artistic freedoms and freedom of expression and not impose restrictions on artists responding to conflict.
  • Arts institutions should commit to working with Gazan artists, including through the Gaza Biennale, and supporting Gazan art.
  • Civil society organisations should work with and support artists in conflict settings and peacebuilding processes.

For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org

Cover photo by Saeed Jaras/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images