All sorts of disciplines are interconnected with each other, and all are subject to the influence of what goes on in the world. Wars, shifts in the geopolitical situation and fragile stabilities, for example, influence creative minds and become inspirations for art or design pieces.
The Israel-Gaza conflict, for example, manifested in multiple ways at the 60th International Art Exhibition in Venice.
According to the United Nations, since the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel in October that left 1,200 people dead and 250 taken hostage, Israeli military operations have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Israel pavilion at the Giardini in Venice, remains closed, guarded by Italian military forces. A lone poster in the window explains, "The artist and curators of the Israeli pavilion will open the exhibition when a ceasefire and hostage release agreement is reached."
Many visitors pause in front of the pavilion, silently peering through the glass doors. The prevailing sentiment deemed this closure was the most prudent choice given the circumstances.
Elsewhere in the Giardini during the Biennale press days, visitors donned keffiyehs and carried tote bags emblazoned with pro-Palestine slogans. Throughout the Venice Biennale, the rallying cry of "Free Palestine" echoed in various forms.
At the Arsenale, artists prompted contemplation on the current situation through their diverse works, sparking reflections on the ongoing conflicts and their broader implications.
Dana Awartani's artwork "Come, Let Me Heal Your Wounds. Let Me Mend Your Broken Bones" (2024) acts as a poignant tribute to the loss of historical and cultural landmarks in the Arab world due to conflicts and acts of terror.
With each iteration her installation expands to include new documentation: at the Arsenale the extra panels pay homage to the devastation in Gaza. Awartani employs a meticulous technique, tearing holes in yards of silk to symbolize significant sites.
Through the act of darning these holes, she brings healing to the picture. The resulting patched "scars" serve as poignant reminders of the physical and emotional wounds endured in reality. Additionally, Awartani infuses the fabric with natural dyes derived from herbs and spices, drawing from the healing properties of traditional dyeing practices in Kerala, where she has learnt them.
Meanwhile, Turkish artist Günes Terkol collaborated with the collectives CO.GE.S don Lorenzo Milani and Casa Punto Froce in a feminist workshop to create two banners titled "Song to the World 1 and 2."
These workshops provided a platform for women to unite, share experiences, and collectively address socioeconomic challenges. Within the banners, sections are dedicated to individual narratives, allowing for diverse voices to be heard within a broader collective story.
Through the medium of fabric banners, Terkol amplifies women's voices and cultivates a sense of community. Her artistic process undergoes a profound transformation through participatory collective storytelling, enabling women to reinterpret their histories, current realities, and ways of existence.
In one banner, ten anonymous figures don Venetian bauta masks, while the moon above is depicted as a slice of watermelon, a symbol standing for the Palestinian flag.
Another scene depicts groups of women standing on gondolas with cartoonish balloons overhead, sharing their stories and spreading messages; one of them features the Ukrainian flag alongside the slogan "Slava Ukraïni".
During the press preview days, a flash mob of pro-Palestine protesters affiliated with Anga (Art Not Genocide Alliance) gathered at the Giardini, advocating for a boycott of the Israel pavilion. In their wake, they left behind a small stenciled Palestinian flag on Jeffrey Gibson's vibrant red sculpture-cum-stage outside the US Pavilion.
Talking about the States, pro-Palestine protests continue across universities, with students advocating for a ceasefire and urging educational institutions to divest from businesses involved in the conflict in Gaza.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), pro-Palestine student demonstrations in the US nearly tripled from April 1st to April 26th compared to March. Many faculty members have joined or supported student demonstrators, while police and universities have responded forcefully to protests.
In the early hours of Thursday, police disbanded a protest camp at UCLA, resulting in the arrest of 217 demonstrators (the UCLA student newspaper the Daily Bruin posted pictures on social media - the pictures illustrating the second part of this post are taken from their Instagram page). The protests have spread to other institutions, including the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Buffalo, among others. Over 2,000 pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested across US campuses, with several encampments cleared at institutions like Portland State in Oregon, Tulane University in New Orleans, and the University of Texas, Dallas.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed concern over the safety of Israeli or Jewish students in American college campuses and called what's happening there as "horrific". US President Joe Biden stated in a speech that "Violent protest is not protected - peaceful protest is," adding that "Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations - none of this is a peaceful protest."
Yet, in a recent brief published yesterday, ACLED noted that while there have been significant violent clashes, such as the incident at UCLA where demonstrators and counter-demonstrators clashed at a student encampment on April 30th, the overwhelming majority of student protests since October - 99% - have remained peaceful (at Dartmouth, despite lecturers stating the protest was peaceful, authorities dismantled it).
The current Columbia protests have been compared to those against the Vietnam war in 1968, and to the protests in 1985, when Columbia University students, organized by the Coalition for a Free South Africa (CFSA), led to the university's divestment from companies linked to apartheid South Africa (to date, after these pro-Palestine protests, only one institution - Brown University in Rhode Island - agreed to a divestment vote in October, making it the first US college to accede to such a demand).
Throughout history, student protests have connected issues and countries. In this case, pro-Palestine protests also emerged in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Italy, where protests began several months ago. In February, Italian police also used batons against high school students protesting in the Tuscan city of Pisa.
Today, police forcibly evicted several dozen students who had occupied Paris's Sciences Po university overnight in a demonstration against civilian casualties in Gaza. Additionally, students at Sciences Po in Paris and Princeton University in New Jersey started a hunger strike in solidarity.
In many countries, student protesters are met with repression, while these protests could be turned into opportunities to start a dialogue, engage in constructive conversations, learn from each other and make sure people understand that being pro-Palestine (and doing so at a major art event or at your university) doesn't mean to be antisemitic and doesn't mean being pro-Hamas. Rather, it underscores the need for global engagement to prevent violence. While university students grasp this concept, it's essential for politicians and leaders to do the same.
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