The sports, arts and culture minister claimed he pulled the South African exhibition because it was being used by a foreign country to send a message about Gaza
Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has responded to accusations of censorship after it was reported that he pulled a South African exhibition from the 61st Venice Biennale because it focused on the deaths of women and children in Gaza.
South African artist Gabrielle Goliath was set to exhibit a version of her elegy project, which has shone a light on femicide in South Africa and Namibia. The version she was set to exhibit at the Venice Biennale was going to look at the thousands of women and children who were killed in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Gayton McKenzie accused of censoring Gaza artwork
An article in Daily Maverick on Friday accused McKenzie of trying to censor the part of Elegy that dealt with deaths in Gaza.
It claimed the minister had sent a letter in December to Art Periodic, the non-profit company responsible for presenting the artwork at the Venice Biennale. McKenzie allegedly asked for the artistic direction of Goliath’s project to be changed. It was reported that he also threatened to pull South Africa’s participation at the biennale if his request was not granted.
He said the artwork was “highly divisive in nature and relates to an ongoing international conflict that is widely polarising”.
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Despite pleas to allow the artwork to be displayed in Venice, McKenzie terminated the department’s relationship with Art Periodic at the beginning of January.
“It would not be wise nor defensible for South Africa to support an art installation against a country currently accused of genocide [Israel] while we as South Africa are also fielding unjustified accusations of genocide. The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture cannot support such a highly divisive political narrative on what remains our platform as a country,” McKenzie said at the time.
Minister claims foreign country involved
He has since been accused of censorship and of being disingenuous.
However, McKenzie on Saturday hit back at the criticism, calling it “misinformation, misdirection and insult”.
He said he raised his concerns with Art Periodic after he was told that a foreign country was going to to fund South Africa’s exhibition. He also accused the foreign country of using South Africa’s artwork to “endorse a geopolitical message about the actions of Israel in Gaza”.
“This foreign country has its own resources, so why not rent its own space and fund its own message to convey its feelings about Israel and Gaza?” he asked.
McKenzie’s personal views on Israel and Gaza
McKenzie also denied letting his personal views on Gaza dictate his work as minister. He has previously been accused of being sympathetic to Israel.
“The South African government has an official position on Gaza, and I have always been careful to keep my personal political views out of my job as a minister. Whether it is on immigration or foreign policy, I do not use the ministry in a manner that runs counter to the position of the state.”
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Furthermore, the minister refuted the allegations of censorship.
“No censorship has been exercised either, but I retain my discretion as the executive authority of the department to promote South African art and artists, and to be wary of artists being paid to become involved in geopolitical narratives that have the potential to cause unneeded division and bring … my ministry into disrepute.”
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