Cape Town - In a move set to please pro-Palestine activists, the host organisation of the International Public Arts Festival (IPAF) Baz-Art has cut its ties with the Israeli Embassy in South Africa, stepping back from association with the country.
The five-day street art festival which had returned for its fully-fledged sixth edition this year, under the theme “Humanity” had seemingly been organised without a hitch before it began receiving calls for it to be boycotted for its association with the Israeli state.
Responding to the mounting pressure for it to disassociate with the Israeli state, Baz-Art said on Tuesday evening that it denounced ties with the state after engagements with its stakeholders and the Israeli artists after noting the effect of its decision to facilitate sponsorship from Israel had.
Baz-Art spokesperson Denis Molewa said: “After consulting with different non-governmental community organisations, we decided to discontinue the sponsorship agreement with the embassy and refund their contribution to the festival.
“However, we will continue to host the Israeli artist collective, BrokenFingaz, because the group is deeply critical of its lived reality in Haifa. They have also worked in collaboration with many Palestinian artists and organisations in their careers and approach art as an important avenue for peace.
“While our code of ethics clearly states that we are a non-political, non-religious organisation, we believe that silence can equate to violence, and there are times when one should use one’s platform to speak out for what is right.
“Given our aforementioned values, and BrokenFingaz’s position and artistic mission, we are proud to have them continue their participation independently,” Molewa said.
Speaking on their decision to reject funding from the Israeli embassy, Israeli artist collective BrokenFingaz said that it wanted to explore the pervasive power of political narratives that are reinforced by governments and the moments in history when the public through actions like protest, forced cracks in this dominant story.
One of the organisations that had released calls for the boycotting of the festival was the South African Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Coalition (BDS), which released a statement applauding the withdrawal of a few artists from participating in the Baz-Art organised conference ahead of the festival and the actual festival.
The coalition also made a call to the City, provincial and national governments to withdraw their support for the IPAF and adhere to government pronouncements in support of Palestine.
The Cape Argus approached the Embassy of Israel for comment, however they did not respond by time of going to print.
In response to the call for it to boycott the festival, the Provincial Cultural Affairs and Sport said that the financial support for the festival had already been finalised and the money transferred in December last year.
Department spokesperson Tania Colyn said: “The festival is one of eight organisations supported in the 2021/22 financial year. The process for such support follows a set process with defined criteria linked to the development of the arts, which is concluded well before the event is hosted.”