Two weeks ago in the Journal of Music, Sebastian Adams, the composer and director of the Kirkos Ensemble, decried the lack of support for activist musicians in relation to the war in Gaza. Citing the activities of Irish artists such as Kirkos, Lankum and Kneecap who have held benefit concerts for Palestine, spoken out against the Israeli slaughter and, in one instance, cancelled an appearance at an international festival funded by US arms manufacturers, Adams claimed that such activism stands in stark contrast to the silence of Irish organisations in the funded parts of the music sector who have remained largely mute, preferring to hide behind a veil of political neutrality.

As part of his critique, Adams pointed to the difference in the stand taken by arts organisations in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Amidst an outpouring of public sympathy and condemnation from Western leaders over the invasion, arts institutions issued a barrage of strongly worded condemnations with some even going so far as to cancel Russian musicians who had no connection whatsoever with the invasion or the Russian government. As I pointed out at the time, the unbridled enthusiasm of these denouncements set a dangerous precedent and sat very much at odds with other conflicts such as the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Before going any further, it is worth pausing to reflect on the role that arts organisations are supposed to fulfil in our society. In my view, these institutions are obliged to act as facilitators of free expression as part of a healthy democracy; their responsibility is to promote art from a diverse range of practitioners and reach as wide an audience as possible. As such, their role differs from that of the artists themselves who are in the business of self-expression. Thus, the non-political status of the former is supposed to act as the guarantor of freedom for the latter, ensuring that artists are free to work without fear of censorship or cancellation.

For these reasons, it has been concerning to witness the trend whereby cultural institutions feel pressured to take a stand on political issues that extend beyond their remit. Much of this is fuelled by our social media landscape where as soon as one institution starts issuing statements and cancellations, others feel compelled to follow. Yet at the core of this phenomenon is a misunderstanding of complicity – namely the notion of ‘complicity by silence’ and the erroneous idea that failing to condemn some act of wrongdoing publicly amounts to implicit support of those carrying out the act itself.

This particular interpretation is invoked by Adams in his discussion of Zeitgeist – a year-long cultural exchange between Ireland and Germany run by Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland. Alongside the US, Germany has been one of Israel’s steadfast supporters and supplier of weapons while there have also been several instances where German cultural organisations have cancelled pro-Palestinian voices. Adams specifically mentions the Frankfurt Book Fair which cancelled an award ceremony honouring the Palestinian novelist Adania Shibli as well as the cancellation of a Lankum gig at the TransCentury Festival in Leipzig last November.

While the cancellation of any artist due to their nationality or political views is indeed deplorable, it does not follow that it is the duty of Irish arts organisations to wade into the fray with condemnations or expressions of solidarity with artists with whom they are not involved. Adams writes that he has been dismayed by the lack of any statement from organisers before going on to say that the ‘apolitical silence’ of Irish arts organisations producing events at Zeitgeist amounts to ‘tacit support of oppressive, racist policies’. However, he ignores the fact that neither Adania Shibli nor Lankum are in any way connected with the Zeitgeist programme and that both of these cancellations happened in 2023 before Zeitgeist was even launched.

Therefore, the idea that arts administrators are complicit in oppressive, racist policies by simply doing their job to promote Irish culture abroad is patently absurd and stretches the notion of complicity to the point of meaninglessness. It is even more baffling when one considers that Shibli has appeared at several Irish literary festivals this year including the Arts and Minds Festival in Maynooth, the Cairde Sligo Arts Festival, the International Literature Festival Dublin and the West Cork Literary Festival. 

The situation would be different if Irish artists involved in Zeitgeist had their events cancelled on account of their pro-Palestinian stance. In this instance, I would expect the organisation in question to stand behind their artists’ right to free expression and seek compensation for any damages or expenses incurred. However, this support would not extend to endorsing an artist’s personal views or expressing ‘solidarity’ with their political standpoint.

Indeed, there is precious little evidence to suggest that Irish activist artists have been cancelled or censored due to their pro-Palestinian views or that activist artists have failed to be platformed. The only example mentioned in Adams’ article was the aforementioned cancellation of a Lankum gig in Leipzig last November. A single cancellation may be one too many but Adams supplies no evidence that groups wishing to engage in pro-Palestinian events in Ireland have failed to be facilitated or censored. This is hardly surprising as Ireland is a country where being pro-Palestinian is an uncontroversial and overwhelmingly majority position. 

It goes without saying that artists have the right to make their work political and take stands on causes they feel passionately about. They should be able to do so without fear of cancellation or censorship. By the same token, arts administrators should continue to do what they do best, developing and promoting the arts while making it available to as wide an audience as possible. However, it is up to the artists themselves, rather than administrators, to define art’s message.

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