Dear Artists,

Welcome to ANTI. Some of you may have received an email by Luke Turner. We're sorry for this inconvenience, please rest assured that we did not share your contact details.

Luke Turner (an artist invited to participate in ANTI) is trying to damage the reputation of the Athens Biennale because of a disagreement he had on Twitter with the artist Daniel Keller. Luke Turner asked us to expel Daniel Keller from the exhibition, based on unfounded evidence from Twitter, accusing Keller (who self-identifies as a socialist Jew) of promoting antisemitism and fascism.

After we kindly rejected Luke Turner's demand, he used overtly defamatory strategies and slander against the Athens Biennale by presenting it as a promoter of anti-semitism/fascism.

We want to take this opportunity to put our values forth, values of which we are adamant. The Athens Biennale and its curators will never expel an artist based on unfounded accusations. It is our duty to respect and protect artists and art! Accusations of anti-semitism and fascist sympathies are serious and should be supported by hard evidence, and not be based on personal disagreements and used to target fellow artists.

We published two statements answering Turner's open letter, on September 4 and on September 20.

You can read more on the theme of ANTI in the recent e-flux we sent out on September 30. We've already received a lot of positive feedback and over 550 requests for press and professional accreditation from all over the world.

Please let us know if you have any thoughts or questions. We count on your support in opposing the dawn of a new cyber Middle Ages!


All the best,

Kostis / Poka-Yio / Stefanie