Sit-in protest planned after Arnolfini cancels Palestine events
A sit-in protest is set to take place on Friday at the Arnolfini following the venue’s decision to axe two events that were part of the Bristol Palestine Film Festival[1]. The Bristol cultural centre has previously hosted events held by the festival but this year said it couldn’t as they could be ‘construed as political’. Following the decision, an open letter[2] was written and in less than three days, almost 2,000 people have added their names to it.
It accuses the Arnolfini of being unwilling to ‘stand with Palestinians and against the war crimes and genocide being committed in Gaza’. Those behind the peaceful protest planned on Friday[3] describe the Arnolfini’s decision as ‘cultural genocide’. The first event that was due to be held there was a screening of Farha[4].
The feature film by Darin Sallam, a female Jordanian-Palestinian writer-director, was to be followed by a discussion of attempts to censor it, with Palestinian doctor and writer Ghada Karmi and British activist and rapper Lowkey.
The film screening and panel discussion will now take place at the Watershed instead,[7] at 4pm on Saturday, December 2. The second event was a spoken-word event Poetry on Palestine with Raise the Bar, also featuring Lowkey[8].
This event will now take place at Sparks, at the former Marks & Spencer building in Broadmead at 7.30pm. The protesters plan to go inside the Arnolfini at 4.45pm where they plan on bringing art supplies to sew, knit, paint, doodle and crochet or just sit. So far 50 people have responded to the event.
“Arnolfini has suddenly decided that there is no room for politics in art and has cancelled Bristol Palestine Film Festival. Their complicity reeks of cultural genocide,” the organisers claim on the Facebook[9] event page. The organisers say they have no plans on getting themselves arrested or breaking any laws.
They have stated that the sit-in is not against any of the staff working at the Arnolfini. “We want to make it very clear that our intention is not to vandalise the space or any of the art on display. We also have no doubt that this decision doesn’t represent Arnolfini’s staff,” they added.
The Arnolfini’s earlier statement about the event cancellations said: “We understand their disappointment. And we are pleased that the events are still scheduled to take place elsewhere in the city. Arnolfini will continue to present a broad programme of contemporary arts in Bristol and work with many artists and partners involving a wide range of subjects, in line with its charitable purpose, and its history of over sixty years of cultural programming.
“The guidance[10] covering what is deemed political activity for arts charities is complicated.
It is also the case that what activities might fall under the remit of this guidance can change depending on wider events.”
References
- ^ Bristol Palestine Film Festival (bristolpff.org.uk)
- ^ open letter (docs.google.com)
- ^ protest planned on Friday (www.facebook.com)
- ^ Farha (www.imdb.com)
- ^ Arnolfini faces backlash after cancellation of Palestine events (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
- ^ Bristol MPs criticised for failing to vote for a ceasefire in Gaza (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
- ^ now take place at the Watershed instead, (www.watershed.co.uk)
- ^ Lowkey (twitter.com)
- ^ Facebook (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
- ^ guidance (www.gov.uk)