Courtesy DiscoA340 via Wikimedia Commons
More than 600 artists and art workers have signed an open letter calling on the Tate in London to sever ties with arts organizations whose founders have financial ties to Israel.
The letter, addressed to Tate leadership ahead of the Turner Prize ceremony on December 3, calls for the museum to divest from the Zabludowicz Art Trust, Zabludowicz Art Projects, and Outset Contemporary Art Fund. The three organizations are run separately by arts philanthropists Anita and Poju Zabludowicz and Candida Gertler.
Signatories of the letter include Jasleen Kaur, a current Turner Prize nominee, as well as past Turner Prize winners such as Charlotte Prodger, Helen Cammock, and Lawrence Abu Hamdan. Artists Jumana Manna, Sophia al-Maria, Gala Porras-Kim, Evan Ifekoya and Dala Nasser were also among the signatories.
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The letter accuses the groups’ founders of being connected to Israel’s “genocidal” policies in Gaza, citing findings from the International Court of Justice and the United Nations that describe Israel’s military actions as being consistent with genocide and apartheid. Amnesty International has also labeled Israel’s policies as crimes of apartheid.
The letter points to the roles of the Zabludowicz Art Trust and Outset Contemporary Art Fund in providing what activists term “artwashing,” or the use of partnerships with museums and artists to obscure ethically dubious political connections.
In 2023, the Zabludowiczes closed their doors to their private museum in London, a move that came after a decade of scrutiny over Poju Zabludowicz’s business ties to pro-Israel groups. A 2009 Guardian report said that he had funded the British Israel Communication and Research Centre. Tamares Group, where he is CEO, is a real estate investment company that has funded technology companies linked to Israeli security efforts.
Outset has in the past listed Leviev, a development company linked to building projects in West Bank illegal settlements, as a corporate partner.
“Tate’s partnerships with these organizations directly undermine its commitment to equality and social impact,” the letter states. It points to prior instances where Tate divested from Russian donors following the invasion of Ukraine, urging similar action in relation to Palestine.
“We believe Tate has a profound moral duty, if not a legal one, to divest from its affiliations with the Israeli state,” it adds.
The letter came not long after students at Goldsmiths were successful in getting the art school’s Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art to end its relationship with Candida and Zak Gertler. Candida is currently the director of Outset Contemporary Art Fund, which launched in 2003. It has for the past decade partnered with the Tate to fund its acquisitions of contemporary art.
The Gertlers, whose wealth derives from real estate, were the targets of protests organized by the student group Goldsmiths for Palestine, who demanded the school divest from the philanthropists over their personal links to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and financial support for his political campaigns.
