The Art Gallery of Ontario, one of Canada’s most internationally well-regarded museums, chose not to acquire a piece by Nan Goldin because of the artist’s comments on Israel’s war in Gaza, according to a report published by the Globe and Mail on Wednesday.
The work, a 2024 video called Stendhal Syndrome, was to be acquired in partnership with the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Drawn from 35mm slides that show blurred images of semi-nude figures and centuries-old sculptures, the piece ended up being purchased by both of those institutions, though the AGO ultimately bailed out. The piece is currently on view at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
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Per the Globe and Mail, an acquisitions committee at the AGO voted against buying Stendhal Syndrome, which does not explicitly address Israel, Palestine, or the war in Gaza. According to an internal memo obtained by the publication, the reason, then, was not the work’s political content but past statements made by Goldin, an outspoken advocate for pro-Palestine causes.
The most notable of her statements was made in 2024 during the opening of her show at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. At that event, she spoke before a crowd about what she described as a “genocide” that was being ignored within Germany. “The word antisemitism has been weaponized,” Goldin, who is Jewish, also said. “It’s lost its meaning. In declaring all criticism of Israel as antisemitic, it makes it harder to define and stop violent hatred against Jews.”
In a speech following Goldin’s, Neue Nationalgalerie director Klaus Biesenbach said, “For us, Israel’s right to exist is beyond question. The Hamas attack on the Jewish state on October 7, 2023 was a cruel act of terror that cannot be justified in any way.”
The Globe and Mail reported that the acquisitions committee was split on Goldin’s politics. Stephan Jost, the museum’s director and CEO, wrote in that memo that some members found her comments “offensive” and “antisemitic,” while others believed that “refusing the work because of the artist’s views was censorship.”
According to the report, John Zeppetelli, a curator in the museum’s modern and contemporary art department, resigned in response to the committee’s decision. He will remain on staff as a guest curator for several more months, working on a Diego Marcon show during that time. The Globe and Mail also reported that two members of the acquisitions committee resigned, though it did not specify which ones.
Amid the resignations, Jost reportedly called for a review of the committee’s processes. An AGO spokesperson said in a statement, “Personal political views were brought into the conversation. This is not intended to be part of the process.”
ARTnews has reached out to Goldin for comment.
It is not the first time since 2023 that the AGO has seen a staff member depart due to a matter related to Israel and Palestine. In 2023, Wanda Nanibush exited her post as a curator of Indigenous art after a Canadian affiliate of the Israel Museum drew attention to her “inflammatory, inaccurate rants against Israel,” as the group wrote in a letter to AGO leadership. It remains unclear if that letter prompted Nanibush’s departure, but her resignation was followed by the departure of a second curator of Indigenous art and a protest led within the museum’s galleries.