DUBAI: French-Algerian artist Zineb Sedira, who was initially selected to stand as the representative of France at the 2021 Venice Biennale, confirmed she will not “renounce” the nomination after she was criticized for supporting Palestine.
Sedira has been accused on social media of being an activist for the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, a campaign that demands the boycott of Israel, withdrawal from the occupied territories and the removal of the West Bank separation wall.
In January, French writer Bernard-Henri Lévy tweeted: “How, after the moving trip to Israel by President Emmanuel Macron (late January), can France choose an artist for the next Venice Biennale (who)… calls for a boycott of Israel?”
Lévy also posted screengrabs of a letter sent from Jacqueline Frydman, the director of Isart – a group that promotes cultural exchange between France and Israel – to the French culture minister Franck Riester.
The letter reads: “the Paris art world is shocked by your choice of Zineb Sedira as the French representative (for the 2021 biennale).
The artist then responded to the criticism in a statement on The Art Newspaper saying: “As an Algerian-French woman, I have been given an opportunity, a voice to continue being critical of all forms of hatred and racism.”
“I have decided to not renounce representing France at the next Venice Biennale, despite this attempt to silence me and infringe on my freedom of expression,” she added.
Sedira was the fourth woman selected for the French pavilion since its creation in 1912, she said.
“What I was not prepared for was the level of discrimination and intimidation, in response to my nomination,” Sedira explained.
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