Like the recent Biennale of Sydney, this year's edition of the Sao Paulo Bienal has opened with artists calling for the organising foundation to sever links with a sponsor - this time from the state of Israel. Fifty-five of the 68 participating artists have signed a letter protesting Israel's Gaza offensive and calling on the bienal to return funds received from Israel.
"At a time when the people of Gaza return to the rubble of their homes, destroyed by the Israeli military, we do not feel it is acceptable to receive Israeli cultural sponsorship," the letter reads. "In accepting this funding our artistic work displayed in the exhibition is undermined and implicitly used for whitewashing Israel's ongoing aggression and violation of international law and human rights. We reject Israel's attempt to normalise itself within the context of a major international cultural event in Brazil." Read more...
Image: Pro-Palestine protesters in Sao Paulo (2009)
