The Israeli pavilion at the Venice Biennale art and cultural exhibition will not open as planned until a Gaza ceasefire deal has been reached, according to the exhibiting artist.
The artist and curators of the pavilion will open their exhibition when an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of the hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas has been reached, artist Ruth Patir announced on her website on Tuesday.
The Venice Biennale is due to open on Saturday. On Tuesday, representatives of the press were to be given a preview of the countries' pavilions.
The Biennale takes place from April 20 to November 24 in the northern Italian city. It is regarded as one of the world's most important presentations of contemporary art.
The opening of the Israeli pavilion at this year's art biennial had been eagerly awaited. Like many other cultural events, the art biennial was overshadowed by the Gaza war in the run-up to the event.
"The decision by the artist and the curators is not to cancel themselves nor the exhibition; rather, they choose to take a stance in solidarity with the families of the hostages and the large community in Israel who is calling for change," the statement on Patir's website said.
"I hate it ... but I think it's important," the New York Times quoted Patir as saying.
Patir rejects a cultural boycott. " I prefer to raise my voice with those I stand with in their scream, ceasefire now, bring the people back from captivity. We can't take it anymore," she wrote on Instagram.
Curator Tamar Margalit told the New York Times that visitors could see one of Patir's video works through the windows of the closed pavilion.
