A prominent Jewish philanthropist has announced she is resigning from all her positions within art institutions in this country in a protest over antisemitism.
Candida Gertler, co-founder of the Outset Contemporary Art Fund, announced the move after Goldsmiths’ Centre for Contemporary Art at the University of London said it would remove her and her husband’s names from one of its galleries.
Gertler said she had made a decision to resign in “a principled protest against the alarming rise in antisemitism.”She added:”The failure to confront such hate compromises the very essence of what art stands for — a medium for empathy, exploration and shared humanity.”
The move, first reported by The Arts Newspaper,comes after 1100 art workers sign open letter demanding Tate cuts ties with philanthropic organisation, which she co-founded in 2003.
In May and June, students from the group Goldsmiths for Palestine occupied the art gallery for 27 days and launched a boycott, leading to its temporary closure over the summer.
A banner seem at one of the protests renamed the Goldsmiths gallery in honour of a Palestinian terrorist. She had been the regular target of anti-Israel campaigners, with her husband Zak being a donor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Outset has raised over £16 million pounds for arts projects, and she is a committee member of the British Friends of Art Museums in Israel.