A St. Louis art center is under fire for closing an exhibition after deeming several pro-Palestinian works antisemitic. The exhibition featured works by artists Dani Collette and Allora McCullough, who were selected by Craft Alliance for an 11-month artist residency in July 2023. The residency provided shared studio space, a stipend, a tuition waiver, and the opportunity to organize an exhibition.
Titled “Planting Seeds, Sprouting Hope,” the exhibition opened on June 21 and was scheduled to run through July 20. However, shortly before its debut, two pieces by Collette were removed without the artists’ knowledge: a glass bowl adorned with a keffiyeh print titled *Symbol of Solidarity*, and several watermelon-shaped pieces carved with the phrase “Land Back,” a term used by Indigenous and decolonization movements. Additionally, title cards for Collette’s works, including *Indigenous to Palestine* and *From the River to the Sea*, were also removed. The latter phrase is historically used by supporters of Palestinian statehood.
“I showed up and my artwork was gone, and my titles were gone, which I think is an incredibly disrespectful and aggressive stance to take without any sort of discourse or effort at discourse,” Collette, of Indigenous descent, told St. Louis Public Radio. She explained that her intention was to discuss the positive connotations of the phrase among Palestinians seeking freedom, equality, and peace for all inhabitants, including Jews and Israelis.
On June 24, Craft Alliance announced on Facebook and Instagram that the show was removed due to artworks and titles containing “antisemitic slogan[s] and imagery” that allegedly called for “violence and the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel.” Bryan Knicely, executive director of Craft Alliance, told St. Louis Magazine that he only became aware of the exhibition’s specifics 45 minutes before the opening when a Jewish volunteer described its contents as offensive.
“While we are saddened by this situation, and for the artists, we are following policies and procedures for the concern and safety of our staff, volunteers, members, donors, students, and patrons,” Knicely said. He criticized the artists for not providing adequate time to educate the community about the exhibition’s political context.
The artists, however, argued that the alliance team was informed of the exhibition’s anti-genocidal themes two months prior and had shared the titles of the artworks a day before its opening. “I wish that more people were open to the idea of art spaces being a safe space for discourse, and that sometimes discourse is a little uncomfortable, but it should never be violent,” said McCullough. She criticized the removal of their works as violent actions against their livelihood and Collette’s Indigenous work.
Fifteen Windows Gallery in St. Louis has offered to host the exhibition starting on July 13, with a talk by the artists planned for August 10. Accusations of censorship against artists speaking out on Palestine and Israel have surged in the United States and Europe since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza. In May, the Art Censorship Index, an online database, was launched to track such incidents in the United States.
