Artists’ Union England letter to RA about removal of two artworks from Young Artists’ Summer Show

Artists’ Union England

Artists Union England posted on 29 July 2024:

As the trade union for artists in England, AUE has written to the Royal Academy (RA) to express our deep concern over the decision to remove two artworks from the Young Artists’ Summer Show. The letter can be read in full below, and linked here.

AUE is passionate about supporting artistic and political freedoms and we call for the works to be restored to the exhibition and for the RA to issue an unreserved and public apology to both the artists and the artistic community. We have requested a response within 14 days of receipt of the letter and will keep our members updated with the response.

Mr Axel Rüger
Chief Executive, Royal Academy of the Arts
29 July 2024

Dear Axel Rüger,
As the trade union for artists in England, we are compelled to write to you to express our deep concern over the decision to remove two artworks from the Young Artists’ Summer Show.

One of the works removed, a photo of a ‘Not in Our Name’ placard, commonly held by Jews who oppose Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

In our statement against artistic censorship in April 2024, we noted the increasingly ‘risk-averse’ and repressive environment being fostered in the UK for artists engaging with Palestine solidarity. It is clear to us that your knee-jerk response to the complaint from the Board of Deputies heightens this state of repression.

As a union of artists, we have pledged to continue to resist attempts to crack down on Palestine solidarity in the cultural field, and our members have raised this instance as a particularly egregious example.

We note that the two works by young artists mentioned in the letter from the Board of Deputies were removed, while the work of a Royal Academician also raised in the complaint has remained on display. We are concerned that a sense of professional solidarity which may have protected the work of the Royal Academician has not been extended to the younger artists, whose work you were happy to champion until they were targeted and the Royal Academy capitulated to pressure from the Board of Deputies.

We are concerned that the Royal Academy has failed in its duty of care towards the two young artists whose work has been removed, and request an urgent explanation of how and why you decided which of the three works were removed and which remained in place.

We wholly support the recent open letter from Artists for Palestine UK in affirming that ‘by censoring a photograph of a protestor with a placard reading, “Jews Say Stop Genocide on Palestinians. Not In Our Name”, the Royal Academy has colluded with the erasure of Jewish contribution to solidarity with Palestinians’ and by removing the works in question has lent support to ‘a racist, anti-Palestinian campaign that aims to silence expressions of support for Palestinian people.’

We call for the works to be restored to the exhibition and for the RA to issue an unreserved and public apology to both the artists and the artistic community. We wish to seek immediate reassurance that artists including our membership will not be subject to these kinds of cowardly and unwarranted capitulations to political pressure in the future, and call on the RA to reaffirm and commit to artists’ freedom to speak, work, and act, in solidarity.

We request an urgent response to our concerns within 14 days

Yours sincerely,

AUE National Executive Committee
info@artistsunionengland.org.uk
www.artistsunionengland.org.uk