ABL public interest client, acclaimed sculptor Nina Sanadze, has shared her horrifying story of antisemitic harassment by the arts community to The Weekend Australian.
Covered in a detailed news article compiled by senior journalist Rosemary Neill along with a personal account written by Nina herself, the story exposes the attempts of people across the Australian arts sector to besmirch Nina’s reputation simply because of her Jewish identity and her condemnation of the Hamas terrorists who massacred and captured Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023.
“The woman who had brought together 10 art collectives from different cultural backgrounds for a 2023 festival of art and poetry, was weeks later being pilloried as “disgusting”, “vile” and “a snake” by other visual artists on social media – some of whom she had previously worked with,” Neill writes.
The article quotes ABL partner Raphael Leibler, who represented Nina pro bono, describing her experience as far from isolated.
“The relentless pile-on against Sanadze, who moved to Australia in 1996 after her family fled the Georgian civil war for Russia, reflects the deep and damaging splits in the arts caused by rising tensions over the Israel-Gaza conflict. The vile attempts to silence Jewish creatives solely -because of their Jewish identity is reminiscent of the darkest authoritarian regimes. It has no place in Australia. Arnold Bloch Leibler has fought and will continue to fight those who seek to curtail the careers and livelihoods of Jewish creatives,” he said.
The Australian’s coverage ends on a positive note by describing how, after enduring months of harassment and misrepresentation, Nina is pushing ahead with plans for a new Melbourne gallery, the Goldstone Gallery, which will be “dedicated to presenting cancelled, politically censored, silenced and muted voices’’. It will open in February with a photographic exhibition by photojournalist Evgeny Feldman, honouring the life of Alexi Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in a gulag in 2024.
In Nina’s personal account of her ordeal, published in Inquirer, she tells of her family’s move to Australia after fleeing the Georgian civil war for Russia, her tireless and ultimately successful efforts to cultivate a diverse network of artists for the festival in 2023 and her shock to see the collaborative endeavour unravel within 24 hours after the 7 October massacres.
“The world – and the art world – irrevocably changed overnight as the barbarity of the pogrom reverberated across continents the next day, unleashing and emboldening further unhinged hate and a doubling down of aggression against Jewish people. With no time to grieve, no support or solidarity, the abuse and harassment of Jewish creatives like me began instantly.”
But rather than focusing on lawsuits and complaints, Nina says she is choosing a proactive and positive path steeped in art.
“Goldstone Gallery is advocating for, and seeking, institutional policy changes to reintegrate, create safety for and support Jewish creatives across Australia, setting a precedent for a course correction towards a more just and inclusive cultural landscape.”
To read Rosemary Neill’s news story, click here.
To read Nina’s personal story, click here.