3 April 2024
HOME Open Exhibiting Artists OPEN LETTER

Dear HOME,

We are writing to you as a united cohort of Exhibiting Artists from the Manchester HOME Open Exhibition 2024. We are writing to express our deep disappointment, anger and shame in response to your decision to cancel the Voices of Resilience: A Celebration of Gazan Writing event that was due to take place on the 22nd April.

We feel this decision deeply contradicts the feelings of HOME visitors, creative workers, staff, supporters and those who felt they could trust HOME to be a voice of justice and reason. Your decision and silence could not be further from this, and results in your active complicity with the genocidal colonialism taking place towards the Palestinian people.

HOME, you have attempted to sweep the widespread and relentless suffering, genocide and continuous silencing of the Palestinian people under the carpet. We hope this letter is a reminder that we as artists that are currently being represented by HOME will not comply with this censorship and actively oppose it; we will raise our voices on behalf of those whom you have tried to silence. The motivations behind the cancellation are unclear, and we urge you to provide transparency and justification for your decision making. We do not accept the excuse of safety concerns and coining HOME as a “politically neutral” space to be one that upholds any logic, sense or credibility, at least in relation to HOME’s own policies and previous events you have hosted.

Your programming speaks for itself on these matters, with a rolling stream of Art, Cinema and Theatre that frequently explores the devastating effects of colonialism, warfare and displacement. HOME’s history of political consciousness includes their recent event hosting genocide denier and US politician Bernie Sanders; the Theatre production Silence which explores the violence and devastation faced by Partition; and even the statue of the political theorist Friedrich Engels commissioned by and installed on the doorstep of HOME. If political neutrality is the stance that HOME wishes to move forward with then we envision that your gallery walls will be bare, your cinema screens blank and your stages empty. Artistic expression is inherently political: you only need to look at the work in the HOME Open to evidence this.

Artistic freedom and safety does not exist under oppression and colonialism. HOME should set a standard for artistic integrity; neutrality on a genocide or normalisation of the slaughter and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is unacceptable in Manchester. We as a cohort have decided to withdraw our artworks from the Home Open 2024 in protest of your decision.

OUR DEMANDS:

• HOME to Reinstate the event ‘Voices of Resilience’

• HOME to release a formal apology addressing HOME’s insensitivity to Palestinian suffering and in support of a permanent ceasefire

• HOME to address what steps will be taken in committing to anti-racism, specifically anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Islamophobia

• HOME to facilitate a public forum where community members from the Palestinian diaspora and their allies can express their concerns, provide feedback, and engage directly with the leadership of HOME

• HOME to protect freedom of speech and ensure the safety from sanctions toward any HOME member of staff or team member, including volunteers, who sign and share this letter and share our views in any form.

SIGNED IN SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE AND THE VOICES OF RESILIENCE TEAM, HOME OPEN ARTISTS

Freya Wysocki

Rhianwen Williams

Joe O'Rourke

Sophia Gardiner

Ella Booth-Pryce

Maria Jackson

Ciara Leeming

Marge Bradshaw

Bear Thomas

Grace Eardley

Anne Webster

Heather Alderson

Maeve Thompson

Radhika Parekh

Amrit Randhawa

Divya Avula

Rhian Bolton

George Gibson

Ella Otomewo

Sofija Zindule

Melody Peacock

Deeqa Ismail

Iona Schwalowsky-Monks

Samina Ali

Julia Roy- Williams

Nicola Moor

Jacob Longcake

Max Kent

David Dunnico

Liz Lock

Henry Thomas

Elizabeth McLoughlin

Fleur Yearsley

Adele Jordan

Isaac Jordan

Sarah-Joy Ford

Tilly Johnson

John-Paul Brown

Claire Curtin

Melissa Haigh

Maryanne Royle

Rowland Hill

Shannon Tran

Mollie Balshaw

Rebekah Beasley

Helen Davies

Izzy Hellam

Simon Woolham

Mike Chavez-Dawson

Hannah Wooll

Gwen Riley Jones

Lula Braimbridge

Tanith Mab

Nasima Bee

Mikesian Studio

Pip Watkins

Anna Robson

Ana Lucía Cuevas

Samantha Sidebottom

Elizabeth Wewiora

Parham Ghalamdar

Mei Yuk Wong

Kay Shah

Jamie Kirk

Jasmine Gardner

Ally Fallon

Ellie Cunningham

Shawn J Stephen

Mat Greaves

Federico Cossu

Ngozi Ugochukwu

Aida Foroutan

Elaine Fisher

Ella Jones

Isobel Shore

Naomi Harwin

Humberto Vélez

Sara Alwagfi

Kate Roper

Nell Smith

Natasha E.R. Withington

Beth Louise Halstead

Jack Clarke

Steve Whitewood

Amber Masters

Bilal Zafar Ranjha

Sacha F. Martinek

Rebecca Tutthill

Lily Brown

Gabriel Bennett Lovejoy

Alison Lord

KittyAurora

Danny Igoe

Dani Molyneux

Jacques Bara

Johnny Humes

Team Trident Press

Lisa Lorenz

Nan Collantine

Ella Mcintosh

Levi Felix Holton

Merike van de Vijver

Pita Santos

Hazel Stileman

Eve Gittins

Sarah Feinmann

Holly Staniforth

Victoria Hilton

Imogen Ella Richards

Maisie Pritchard

Martha Harris

Rowan Bridgwood

Becks Gio Joe

Phoebe Price

Charmagne Coble

Alicja Mrozowska

Olivia Madland Shorter

Lee Cooper

Bridget Coderc

IF YOU ARE AN ARTIST OR CREATIVE PROFESSIONAL IN SOLIDARITY PLEASE SIGN BELOW

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  1. Melania Pahome, Artist-Curator
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  3. David McFarlane, Artist, Freelance, Manchester
  4. Jessica El Mal, Artist and Curator, Manchester
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  9. Cathy Otten, Journalist, Freelance, Manchester
  10. Faz Barber, Artist, London
  11. Ali Matthews, Artist and lecturer, Manchester
  12. Jaz Oldham, Student, Leeds
  13. shumi Bose, academic, UAL Central Saint Martins, London
  14. maya, poet, manchester
  15. V Wade
  16. Dr Neil Coombs, Artist Publisher, Dark Windows Press, Colwyn Bay
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