The Sydney Biennale, the most important biennale in the Pacific, has denied discrimination in its current edition after some members of Australia’s Jewish community repeatedly claimed curator Houl Al Qasimi selected participants with anti-Zionist politics.
A prominent Jewish group, the NSW Jewish House, was initially invited to preview the biennale ahead of its public opening this weekend. “If there is a work that has a pro-Palestinian bias, that’s fine,” President David Ossip told the media. australian financial review In a February report, the invitation was called a “peace offering.” “But if they don’t balance with anything from other angles, I will point that out.”
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But on Wednesday, after the biennale opened to the press, the same publication reported that Ossip’s team declined to attend a preview of the exhibition. He said the group had done so not because of any artwork in the exhibition but because of “disappointment at further issues involving objectionable social media activity by some of the participating artists”.
this australian financial review Two posts were also tagged as Biennale posts by publisher Morry Schwartz, who called the current exhibition an “orgy of Israel-hatred” ahead of its opening, the report said. Posts cited in the new report criticized Israel and Zionism; both specifically mentioned Jews. Ossip said the posts contained “speech that many in our community would reasonably consider to be anti-Semitic and capable of inciting hatred against Jews.”
in a statement art newsA spokesman for the Sydney Biennale said the edition did not contain bias. “The Biennale does not tolerate racism, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, or discrimination of any kind,” a statement from the Biennale said. “The organization’s top priority is to ensure that the Biennale remains an inclusive and welcoming environment for all audiences.”
Additionally, the Biennale stated that “artists will not be selected or excluded on the basis of religion, cultural background, nationality or political views. Participation is determined solely through a rigorous process based on artistic merit.”
Much of the scrutiny of this version appears to stem from previous comments by Qasimi, an outspoken advocate for the pro-Palestinian cause. As she curates the 2025 Aichi Triennale in Japan, she denounces Israel’s war in Gaza, which she calls “genocide and ethnic cleansing,” saying “It’s been a very emotional experience. I agree with a lot of people that none of us will be free until all of us are free. So, free Palestine.”
Qasimi did not attend the Sydney Biennale preview this week, an unusual move as curators typically hold press conferences for the biennales they organize. A spokesman for the Biennale told sydney morning herald She chose not to participate to ensure that this edition remained artist-centered. “She chose to let their work, their history and their voices take center stage,” a spokesperson said of the participants.
A spokesperson for Sharjah Art Foundation, the renowned art space led by Qasimi, told us art news”, “Hall has made the thoughtful curatorial decision to withdraw at this time to ensure that the focus is entirely on the artist and his or her work, and therefore will not comment. “
Early reviews of the biennale suggest it is not an explicitly pro-Palestine version. Critic Dee Jefferson in guardian Concerns about the politics of the exhibition “were not borne out by the festival itself”.
“There were no spectacles or slogans; not political slogans, but a polyphonic voice – more than 80 artists from 37 countries – singing their own songs,” Jefferson wrote.
this australian financial review It was also reported that there were not many works in the exhibition that directly competed with Israel’s war in Gaza.
