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A new exhibition titled "Stolen Arab Art" featuring works by Arab artists who refused to perform in Israel opened Thursday in a Tel Aviv art gallery, prompting criticism from those who consider it contrary to the ethic.
The Tel Aviv Southern Art Gallery, 1: 1 Center for Arts and Politics, exhibits four video works of four different Arab artists who do not cooperate with Israel for political and ideological reasons. The works are presented without the knowledge or consent of the artists and without attribution of credit to the artists – their names do not appear in the advertisement for the exhibition or in the space of the gallery itself .
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Commissioner Omer Krieger sees this as a political and artistic statement. "This exhibition is an artistic project, a type of performance," he said.
"He asks questions about what can be done through art and art institutions, and how one can work with the law, with reality, with political conventions, with campaigns like BDS and with the Israeli Government, art. "
Krieger says that the idea of the exhibition arose from attempts to hold an exhibition with the consent of the artists, but the artists ignored it or refused. "When we opened this center, we planned an exhibition with a young artist from Gaza with whom I have been in contact for a number of years, but at the last moment, out of fear of his life, he decided not to go as far as he could. at the end. ", says Krieger.
"I understood that there was a need for paradigmatic change, that people live in fear," he added.
The exhibition has sparked significant controversy in the world of local art, with the online art magazine "Tohu" calling out "do not collaborate with this despicable event and its organizers . "
Artist and actress Raida Adon has contacted some of the artists whose works she believes are included in the exhibition. He was told that "the act is so devilish that it's funny". Another wrote, "What good is being a thief and being proud of it? It will not change anything, all these artists, including myself, refuse to show our work in Israel, and they just reinforced our reasoning."
According to Adon, it's a moral failure. "I say that as an artist, not just as an Arab woman, it's immoral not to seek the consent of the artist, as if someone should take my art video and place it in a Jewish colony [in the West Bank] without my knowing it or my name, if an idiot accuses artists of giving their permission secretly, that's enough to destroy their career, the Israelis always take everything to the light, but things are not always so light and easy.
Krieger is not surprised by the criticism, but she says all the returns are not negative: "A major Palestinian artist I love has given me a lot of complements and m & # 39; 39, said she was moved by this project. "
According to Krieger, he takes very seriously the possibility that this exhibition will harm artists or expose them to risks. "It's the only real concern we've had and we consulted with local and international lawyers to understand the risk" The title of the show clearly shows that there is no There is no consent here, that it is stolen, that it is an act of Israeli aggression. also why we do not advertise the names of the artists. "
Several dozen people attended the opening, and some of the screaming ensued. Adi Engelman, director of the art gallery, said that she "needs a link and that we also need acts of peace when there is no peace. " Art has power and a role, and I learn a lot of these pieces. in the world, they are exhibited in biennials and large galleries, in this exhibition, we reach out, but the artists do not reach out to us, we know that it is a unilateral act.
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