On Art, War, Festival and Palestine

Arts Workers for Palestine Scotland: An Exploration of Some of Our Work During the Edinburgh Festivals

Edinburgh International Festival

Arts Workers for Palestine Scotland is actively campaigning for the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) to enter discussions with its long-standing sponsor, Baillie Gifford, regarding their investment practices. We have been sending messages to artists and the wider EIF staff team to encourage them to put pressure on the EIF organisation to leverage their cultural position with Baillie Gifford. 

Baillie Gifford, a major sponsor of EIF for over two decades, has come under scrutiny for its investments in companies associated with the Israeli occupation of Palestine, profiteering from the sale of arms and other unethical practices including investment in fossil fuels. Despite significant public funding, EIF has continued this partnership, raising ethical concerns among artists and the wider community. Other prominent festivals, such as the Hay Festival, and local institutions like Fruitmarket and Stills, have already suspended their partnerships with Baillie Gifford due to these concerns.

In a recent Guardian article exploring the Edinburgh International Festival it was stated “This year’s event, which presents 161 performances featuring artists from 42 countries, has avoided direct references to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. She [Nicola Benedetti, Edinburgh international Festival Artistic Director] said the festival’s role was to “take a step back” and examine the underlying causes of conflict with “calm, considered, careful maturity.” 

For the Edinburgh International Festival to make such a bold claim is shocking: the festival itself was founded out of “post-war darkness [and] division”. Even this year’s festival theme, titled ‘Rituals That unite Us’, could be considered connected to what is happening in Gaza right now; the mass grief we are all experiencing is surely a ritual that is uniting hundreds of thousands to march the streets of their local towns and cities campaigning for a ceasefire. The philosopher Byung-Chul Han who inspired the festival’s theme theorised a “digital panopticon” of subjugation which we outside of Palestine are witnessing through the smartphones of Palestinians in Gaza right now. 

We have not called for a boycott of the Edinburgh International Festival.

That EIF receive the largest amount of financial support from Baillie Gifford compared to other arts organisations in Scotland is reason alone why they should not be “taking a step back” and should be having open, honest, and difficult conversations about how the arts are currently embroiled in funding tied to the genocide in Gaza. Indeed, it wasn’t until last year that EIF removed Valery Gergiev as their honorary president. A composer who has presented at the festival multiple times, despite being a close ally of Putin. Even before the war in Ukraine, Gergiev had been a vocal supporter of the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The EIF has a history of benefitting from those who champion war and death. 

It is also noteworthy that last year the EIF hosted multiple events in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Their silence on Palestine is painful.

To reflect on the closing words within The Guardian article, where the EIF Artistic Director states she wants to explore the causes of conflict with “calm, considered, careful maturity” we recognise this as a specific kind of dog whistle. To be expected to act calmly when Palestinians are being obliterated is absurd. Thousands of children have been buried alive and we refuse to act with “careful maturity” because of that. For it to be suggested that it is not mature to be shouting, screaming, and pleading for genocide to end is frankly offensive. The privilege to not feel immense anger and to be able to “take a step back” is one we as Arts Workers do not have.

We would argue that the arts are exactly where we should be having this angry, empowered, emboldened and difficult conversation. Whilst our neighbours to the South in England have been told by their arts council that making “political statements” could jeopardise their organisations, we in Scotland have not been told that. We are fortunate to live in a country where many MSPs are fighting for a ceasefire in Palestine and our primary arts funder is aligned with their priorities. Indeed, even if Creative Scotland were to warn against making “political statements”, openly discussing the genocide we are all witness to is not a political statement. Staying silent is a political statement. Claiming to “take a step back” is a political statement. Claiming to be an international festival whilst not holding space to explore the fear, grief and rage that is uniting so many of us internationally is a political statement. 

• We call on Edinburgh International Festival to leverage their relationship with Baillie Gifford to call for divestment.
• We call on Edinburgh International Festival to release a statement in support of the Palestinian people.
• We encourage artists and creatives taking part in Edinburgh International Festival to urge the organisation to leverage their relationship with Baillie Gifford to call for divestment.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society

Alongside this campaign we have been developing work which aims to encourage artists, audiences, and the broader community to sign an open letter to the Fringe Society, urging them to advocate for Baillie Gifford’s divestment from companies linked to unethical practices. Unlike the EIF, the Fringe Society’s relationship is new with Baillie Gifford, and worth significantly less money. However, Shona McCarthy, the chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, has made several statements defending the sponsorship deal with Baillie Gifford, despite mounting criticism. McCarthy has been steadfast in her defence of Baillie Gifford, highlighting the financial support the firm has provided, which she claims is crucial in a time of significant arts funding cuts in Scotland. She argued that without such corporate sponsorships, cultural events like the Fringe might become unsustainable. It is important to note for readers who may not be familiar with the nature of the ‘Edinburgh Fringe Festival’ that the society McCarthy heads up do not run the festival – the festival is made up of independent venues, the society works as an interconnected box office and hosts artist networking and support services. They are not themselves the festival. Their suggestion that the festival itself would crumble without support from funders such as Baillie Gifford is laughable. 

As arts workers we know more than most the precarious state of arts funding in Scotland. But we know that an arts sector funded by those that profit from genocide is a sector with blood in its hands. The arts has historically been a space for protest and dissent, a safe space for marginalised voices and expressions – the funding of work by Baillie Gifford is art washing of the worst kind.

In response to criticism, McCarthy has stated that the Fringe Society is “enormously grateful” for Baillie Gifford’s support and suggested that the cultural sector must navigate financial precarity by maintaining such partnerships. These statements are abhorrent because they seemingly prioritize financial stability over ethical integrity. By continuing the partnership with Baillie Gifford, the Fringe Society risks complicity in supporting companies involved in profiteering from genocide. We argue that this undermines the moral responsibility of cultural institutions to advocate for justice and human rights.

The defence of such a partnership, especially when other prestigious institutions have suspended similar relationships, has only fuelled the controversy. McCarthy’s statements are dismissive of the broader ethical concerns and the calls for divestment, which we believe are crucial for maintaining the integrity of the arts community. As the head of an organisation that predominantly profits from thousands of artists’ marketing needs, McCarthy’s stance does not align with the artists they rely on to pay their bills.

Indeed, this is not the first time the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s values have missed the mark, as McCarthy has historically campaigned against fair pay activists at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

• We call on Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society to leverage their relationship with Baillie Gifford to call for divestment.
• We call on performers and audiences at Edinburgh Festival Fringe to sign the open letter calling for Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society to leverage their relationship with Baillie Gifford to call for divestment.
• We urge performers at Edinburgh Festival Fringe to make pro-Palestinian statements and to use your platforms to raise awareness of the ongoing genocide and destruction of the Palestinian people. 

Call to Action for Arts Venues and Organisations: Support PACBI and Stand for Justice

As we make our way through the August festivals, we call upon all Scottish cultural organisations, including venues hosting performers and artists, to join us in endorsing the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). This movement is not just a symbolic gesture but a significant step towards supporting the Palestinian struggle for justice and human rights.

Why This Is Important:

1. Ethical Responsibility: By signing up to PACBI, cultural organisations affirm their commitment to ethical practices and solidarity with oppressed communities. Supporting PACBI sends a clear message that the arts sector stands against injustice and supports the rights of the Palestinian people.
2. Unified Stand: The collective endorsement of PACBI by cultural platforms amplifies the call for an end to Israeli occupation and human rights abuses. It strengthens the global voice demanding accountability and change.
3. Cultural Integrity: The integrity of cultural organisations is bolstered when they align their actions with the values of justice and equality. Signing up to PACBI helps maintain the credibility and moral authority of the arts community.

How to Get Involved:

1. Sign the PACBI Pledge: Add your organisation’s name to the growing list of supporters.
2. Raise Awareness: Use your platforms to inform audiences, artists, and fellow organisations about PACBI and its significance.
3. Advocate for Change: Encourage other cultural institutions to join the movement and take a stand for human rights.

By signing up to PACBI, you are not just supporting a cause but actively participating in a movement that seeks to create a fair and just world. Let us come together during these festivals to show that our cultural community stands unwaveringly for justice.

The situation in Palestine is dire, with ongoing human rights violations and systemic oppression under Israeli occupation. Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem face brutal conditions, including severe restrictions on movement, inadequate access to necessities, and relentless violence. As cultural workers, audiences, and organisations, it is our moral duty to unite and advocate for an end to this occupation. The nature of Scottish culture, deeply rooted in the values of freedom and justice, calls us to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. By upholding these principles, we can shine a light on these atrocities and push for justice, equality, and peace for the Palestinian people.

No more business as usual in the arts.

Free Palestine.