The board of the Finnish National Gallery has announced new guidelines regarding ethical funding following a five-month boycott of Helsinki’s Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma by artists over its connection to patron and collector Chaim ‘Poju’ Zabludowicz. The Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma has severed ties with the Kiasma Support Foundation, which Zabludowicz cofounded, and museum director Leevi Haapala has resigned from the foundation’s board.
The new guidelines will affect all three museums managed by the Finnish National Gallery (Ateneum, Kiasma and Sinebrychoff Art Museum). The museums will not accept donations from entities on the Finnish Government’s sanctions list or organisations with ties to oil and gas production, the tobacco industry, weapons manufacturing or the production of environmentally hazardous chemicals.
Zabludowicz runs the London-based investment company Tamares, and is the son of Shlomo Zabludowicz, who made his fortune on profits from negotiating arms deals between Finland and Israel. Tamares has previously invested in two companies, Knafaim Holdings and Palantir Technologies, both with business ties to Israeli security forces.
In 2007 Zabludowicz and his wife, Anita, opened the Zabludowicz Collection in London, then expanded it to sites in New York City and Sarvisalo, Finland. Five years previously he cofounded the pro-Israel lobbying group BICOM (Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre), which believes that any reference to Israel as an apartheid state, as Amnesty International has characterised the country’s treatment of Palestinians, is an antisemitic ‘smear’. Zabludowicz stepped down as chairman in 2013 and departed as director of the nonprofit in 2019.
Inspired by an open letter from artists Terike Haapoja and Eero Yli-Vakkuri, an initial 42 artists pledged to sever ties with the Kiasma, a boycott that snowballed into 220 artists refusing to exhibit or take part in any other activities with the Helsinki museum. Pilvi Takala, one of the boycotting artists who also represented Finland at the 2022 Venice Biennale, stated: ‘As an artist, I don’t want to be party to the normalisation of the occupation of Palestine and the oppression of Palestinians.”
During this time of nonengagement, the activists engaged in dialogue with the institution. Haapoja explained: ‘The strike began in solidarity with the Palestinians. It is significant that Finland’s largest public art institution has taken the issue of human rights seriously. We are happy that we have been able to have this difficult conversation in a constructive spirit, so that we can return to work together in a good spirit.’
In a statement, Zabludowicz said: ‘As a proud and founding member of the Kiasma Support Foundation, I believe in the importance of the museum as an independent and inclusive space. I am a proud Finnish citizen, a child of refugees from the Holocaust who were given a home in a democratic Finland. I passionately support a Two-State Solution that guarantees the rights of Palestinians and Israelis to live and work side by side in peace. I look forward to continuing my long-standing commitment to supporting contemporary art and culture in Finland and across the world, and I passionately believe in the power of culture and dialogue to build bridges between communities.’
Update: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Tamares was founded not by Poju Zabludowicz but by his father. It also inaccurately stated that Tamares currently has investment in Palantir Technologies and Knafaim Holdings, while this is no longer the case.
