The first UK event of the Gaza Biennale will take place tonight (January 14) outside of the ICA, London.
The Gaza Biennale is a collective project involving over 60 Palestinian artists, many of whom are still based in Gaza and producing work under intolerable conditions. The Biennale is intended to be displayed both in Gaza itself and in partner institutions and galleries around the world. Tonight, featured artwork will be projected onto the walls of the ICA.
The event is led by Gaza Biennale - Jinnaah UK (‘jinaah’ means ‘pavilion’ or ‘wing’ in Arabic’) and supported by Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), a transnational, grassroots movement of Palestinian and Arab young people, along with The White Pube, Cultural Workers Against Genocide and Workers for a Free Palestine.
As well as being an opportunity to celebrate the work of Palestinian artists, the Biennale is intended as a protest against the ICA, which tonight is hosting a private view for New Contemporaries, a new exhibition sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Led by billionaire Mike Bloomberg, this philanthropic organisation is “directly implicated in facilitating settlement infrastructure in the West Bank”, according to PYM.
Last year, dozens of filmmakers signed a petition calling upon the New York Film Festival to cut ties with Bloomberg Philanthropies for the same reason, alleging that the organisation had funded a programme which trained mayors and city officials representing more than 40 West Bank settlements, which were found illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2024.
Tonight, protesters will invite those attending the Bloomberg-sponsored event to join them instead outside the ICA for the Gaza Biennale. It will last from 6pm to 9pm, and the organisers advise people to dress warmly and bring a flask of tea.