Should museums participate in cultural boycotts?
Vote in the poll and have your say
More than 100 artists, writers, MPs and other public figures signed a letter published in the Guardian last week calling for Israeli-Palestinian dialogue rather than cultural boycotts.
The letter, which also announced the launch of a new UK network called Culture for Coexistence, said that cultural boycotts were “divisive and discriminatory”. Signatories included Paul Ruddock, the former chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as the writer JK Rowling.
Earlier in the year, more than 100 artists announced that they would not engage in cultural relations with Israel, also in a letter to the Guardian.
In the 1960s, many artists and writers campaigned for a cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa. More recently, choreographer Matthew Bourne refused to tour Swan Lake to Russia, in response to the country’s record on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights.
And last year, the Tricycle Theatre in London decided not to host the annual Jewish Film Festival, which received funding from the Israeli embassy. It later withdrew its objection.
Should museums participate in cultural boycotts?
Vote in the poll and have your say in the comment box below.
The letter, which also announced the launch of a new UK network called Culture for Coexistence, said that cultural boycotts were “divisive and discriminatory”. Signatories included Paul Ruddock, the former chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as the writer JK Rowling.
Earlier in the year, more than 100 artists announced that they would not engage in cultural relations with Israel, also in a letter to the Guardian.
In the 1960s, many artists and writers campaigned for a cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa. More recently, choreographer Matthew Bourne refused to tour Swan Lake to Russia, in response to the country’s record on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights.
And last year, the Tricycle Theatre in London decided not to host the annual Jewish Film Festival, which received funding from the Israeli embassy. It later withdrew its objection.
Should museums participate in cultural boycotts?
Vote in the poll and have your say in the comment box below.