Bethlehem artist excluded from competition as 'too pro-Palestinian'

Nation Estate

When David Hockney produces images of Yorkshire is he described as 'too pro-British' ? Was Manet 'too French'? A Palestinian artist shortlisted for a major prize has been thrown out of a competition because a sponsor says she is "too pro-Palestinian".

Larissa Sansour from Bethlehem was among eight artists shortlisted for the prestigious €25,000 Lacoste Elysée Prize, awarded by the Swiss Musée de l'Elysée with sponsorship from Lacoste, the clothing brand. But this month, Lacoste has demanded that her nomination be revoked, because they say her work is 'too pro-Palestinian'. A special jury will convene in January 2012 to select the winner.

As a nominee, Sansour was awarded a bursary of €4,000 and given carte blanche to produce a portfolio of images for the final judging. In November 2011, three photos for Sansour's Nation Estate project were accepted, and she was congratulated by the prize administrators on her work and professionalism. Sansour's name was included on all the literature relating to the prize and on the website as an official nominee. Her name has since been removed, just as her project has been withdrawn from an upcoming issue of contemporary art magazine ArtReview introducing the nominated artists.

In an attempt to mask the reasons for her dismissal, Sansour was asked to approve a statement saying that she withdrew from her nomination 'in order to pursue other opportunities'. Sansou refused.

Sansour said: "I am very sad and shocked by this development. This year Palestine was officially admitted to UNESCO, yet we are still being silenced. As a politically involved artist I am no stranger to opposition, but never before have I been censored by the very same people who nominated me in the first place. Lacoste's prejudice and censorship puts a major dent in the idea of corporate involvement in the arts. It is deeply worrying."

She told ICN: "I am very upset with Lacoste's decision to censor my work. This is not an award I applied for, I was nominated out of the blue, meaning they knew about my political practice beforehand. But apparently commenting directly on the Palestinian bid for statehood was too much for them."

Sansour's shortlisted work, Nation Estate, is conceived in the wake of the Palestinian bid for UN membership. Nation Estate depicts a science fiction-style Palestinian state in the form of a single skyscraper housing the entire Palestinian population. Inside this new Nation Estate, the residents have recreated their lost cities on separate floors: Jerusalem on 3, Ramallah on 4, Sansour's own hometown of Bethlehem on 5, etc.

Regretting Lacoste's decision to censor Sansour's work, Musée de l'Elysée has offered to exhibit the Nation Estate project outside of the confines of the Lacoste sponsorship. Musée de l'Elysée is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Lacoste Elysée Prize 2011 is the award's second edition.