American artist and curator Fareed Armaly rejected the Käthe Kollwitz Prize from the Academy of the Arts in Berlin, citing “a highly politicised, reactionary shift in official cultural policies, aimed at silencing advocates for Palestinian rights under international law.”
Armaly, who is of Lebanese-Palestinian heritage, is known for large collaborative works that explore his Palestinian roots. In his official public letter of rejection, he declared that he would not be accepting the €12,000 award.
Exhibitions, teaching contracts and awards have been cancelled in Germany since the attack on October 7th, 2023, by Hamas because institutions have perceived comments by select artists and curators as antisemitic.
In response, the Academy’s director Manos Tsangaris, said his institution “is accountable to no one outside its membership, least of all to the federal government,” and actively opposes all forms of censorship.
Although Armaly claims that earlier in his career he would have proudly accepted the award, he concluded, “At this historical juncture, I am unable to align myself with any institution operating under the cultural policy framework of the German government.”