The Biennale of Sydney, the most important biennial in the Pacific region, denied discrimination in its current edition after some members of Australia’s Jewish community repeatedly claimed that curator Hoor Al Qasimi had selected for participants with anti-Zionist politics.
One prominent Jewish group, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, had initially been invited to preview the Biennale ahead of its public opening this weekend. “If there are works with a pro-Palestinian bias, fine,” president David Ossip told the Australian Financial Review in a report from February that labeled the invitation a “peace offering.” “But I will call it out if they are not balanced with anything from another point of view.”
But on Wednesday, after the Biennale opened to the press, that same publication reported that Ossip’s group had declined to attend the show’s preview. He said that the group had done so not because of any art in the show, but because it was “disappointed that further issues have since emerged involving objectionable social media activity by certain participating artists.”
The Australian Financial Review reported that two posts were ones that had also been flagged to the Biennale by Morry Schwartz, a publisher who called the current exhibition a “hate Israel jamboree” before its opening. The posts cited in the new report were critical of Israel and Zionism; both specifically mentioned Jews. Ossip said that these posts contained “rhetoric that many in our community reasonably regard as antisemitic and capable of inciting hatred towards Jews.”
In a statement to ARTnews, a Biennale of Sydney spokesperson said that this edition did not contain prejudice. “The Biennale does not tolerate racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, or any form of discrimination,” a statement from the biennial said. “The organisation’s priority is to ensure the Biennale remains an inclusive and welcoming environment for all audiences.”
Moreover, the Biennale said it “does not select or exclude artists based on their religion, cultural background, nationality, or political views. Participation is determined solely through a rigorous process grounded in artistic merit.”
Much of the scrutiny paid to this edition seems derive from prior statements by Qasimi, an outspoken advocate for pro-Palestine causes. When she curated the 2025 edition of Japan’s Aichi Triennale, she denounced Israel’s war in Gaza, which she called a “genocide and ethnic cleansing,” and said that “it’s been a very emotional experience. I echo many people when they say, none of us will be free until all of us are free. So, free Palestine.”
Qasimi did not show up to the preview of the Biennale of Sydney this week—an unusual move, since curators typically hold press conferences for the biennials they organize. A Biennale spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald that she had elected not to attend to ensure that this edition remains artist-centric. “She has chosen to let their work, their histories, and their voices take centre stage,” the spokesperson said, speaking of the participants.
A spokesperson for the Sharjah Art Foundation, the acclaimed art space that Qasimi leads, told ARTnews, “Hoor has made a deliberate curatorial decision to step back at this time to ensure the focus remains entirely on the artists and their work, and as such will not be providing a comment.”
Early reviews of the Biennale suggest that it is not an explicitly pro-Palestine edition. Critic Dee Jefferson wrote in the Guardian that concerns about the exhibition’s politics are “not borne out by the festival itself.”
“It’s light on spectacle and slogans; not a political chant but rather a polyphony of voices – more than 80 artists from 37 countries – singing their own songs,” Jefferson writes.
The Australian Financial Review also reported that the exhibition did not contain many works directly contending with Israel’s war in Gaza.
Credit: artnews
