Dear Artist, Art Organization/ Institutions, and Culture Bearers of Houston, TX,
In 2021 Houston artists and activists formed Collective Artists in Solidarity with Palestine (CASP) in response to the ongoing 75 year-long Israeli occupation of historic Palestine and the escalated removal and dispossession of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah. As working artists in the occupied Karankawa and Akokisa territories known as Houston, it is not lost on us how our likeness and work is used by Arts Institutions for optics. One of these instances involved the exhibition, “Withstand: Latinx Art in Times of Conflict” that led to the formation of CASP when a group of artists decided to speak against the complicity of arts organizations with regards to the occupation. Inspired by struggles over land and the impact of US-backed war, artists understood the glaring contradiction in displaying their art, while mosques were raided by the IOF, Palestinian political prisoners were abducted, and indiscriminate carpet bombings terrorized the Palestinian people. It’s 2023 and Palestine is still under apartheid and occupation.
In the aftermath of the 2020 uprisings against state-sanctioned violence that kills Black people in the US and across the globe, Arts Institutions claimed to organize programming that addressed “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” anti-oppression, and the violence of borders and US imperialism without examining their internal affairs. As we bare witness, a 70 day long genocide is waged in Gaza, with a death toll of over 20,000. Israel’s brutality is disturbing and mobilizing people globally. In Houston, thousands of people take the streets every week in protest, yet Arts Organizations remain silent. With a revolutionary vision of a Free Palestine, we write today to urge Arts Institutions, Artists and Culture Bearers to break the silence that stands in for complacency and sign this letter.
“As a cultural worker who belongs to an oppressed people my job is to make revolution irresistible.”- Toni Cade Bambara
As artists, if we are not rooted in our commitment to liberation, we risk our work being weaponized as propaganda. What is required of cultural workers right now is to continue speaking in solidarity with Palestine and to support the end of the Israeli occupation. We ask that you join us by signing this letter that will be sent to the following Arts Institutions ( see list below) in Houston, to show that we are firm in our demands and that we have the support of the Houston Arts community.
By considering our relationship to you (Arts Institutions), we are compelled to demand for you to, join the BDS movement, divest from Zionist donors, publish a statement condemning the genocide of the Palestinian people, and call for an immediate ceasefire. We understand the ties Israel has in Houston through the oil/gas industry, Anti BDS legislation, and the United States’ unwavering support of Israel that is culturally ingrained into the values of this country. Therefore, we are providing a starting point for Arts Institutions in Houston to begin mapping out what their funding sources could look like and initiate conversations with their funders to move towards a liberatory giving framework. (for funders: Funding Freedom). We urge you to seek funding models that align with the liberation of all people and to speak out against donors, philanthropists, and grantors that condone genocide so that you can stand in Solidarity with the liberation of Palestine.
We refuse to stand idly by while the United States and Israel continue to terrorize the Palestinian people. We are invested in the liberation of Palestine because no one is free until Palestine is free. As artists whose families, communities, and ancestors are survivors of state sanctioned US violence here and abroad, we recognize how our struggles are interconnected. As the world continues to open its eyes to the unchecked machinations of the Israeli and United States governments, we are reminded of how much of that we owe to the Palestinian people and their unyielding resistance.
From Stop Cop City in Atlanta to the colonial borders of Texas-Mexico, Puerto Rico, to Haiti, and Congo to Sudan, this list is not exhaustive and we will not stop organizing until everyone is free. The time for performative gestures is up. Artists have the power to resist in times of oppression and make the revolution irresistible. Art institutions have the responsibility to reflect the will and intellect of their artists.
We work in the sun, collectively, internally
We fight in the sun
We die in the sun
We dream in the sun
(Arts Institutions: Houston Arts Alliance (HAA), The Moody Art Center, Fresh Arts, Houston Center for Photography (HCP), Art League Houston (ALH), Lawndale, DiverseWorks, Project Row Houses (PRH), Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston (CAMH), FotoFest, Box 13 Artspace, Basket Books and Arts, The Asia Society, The Menil, Contemporary Craft Center of Houston, The Printing Museum, Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC), Fresh Arts, Museum of Fine Arts (MFAH).
In Solidarity,
Collective Artists in Solidarity with Palestine (CASP)
