‘A climate of fear’: New gallery to platform silenced artists

When sculptor Nina Sanadze was attacked in the mass doxing of the 600-strong Jewish creatives WhatsApp group last year, it only made her more determined to speak out and support of other artists.

The Melbourne-based visual artist experienced harassment, cancellation and defamation, losing both her studio space and her representation. She knows many other Jewish artists have had similar experiences and she is determined to ensure they - and other artists subject to political boycotts - are not silenced.

The result is Goldstone Gallery, a contemporary fine art space dedicated to amplifying censored, silenced, cancelled and muted voices, which officially opened last week

Goldstone Gallery is named after Lance Sergeant Aaron Goldstone who fought and died in WWI, and whose parents ran their grocery business at the site. It aims to provide a sense of safety and protect freedom of expression and tolerance within the art community.

The gallery's inaugural exhibition, This Is Navalny, neatly fits this brief: the first solo show of photojournalist Evgeny Feldman, who has been exiled in Latvia since 2022, and pays tribute to Russia’s opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny.

Holocaust survivor and artist Olga Horak's posthumous exhibition In Her Light is slated to follow This Is Navalny, while the third show will involve international artists from China, Iran and Korea who have been cancelled for making work as dissidents. Programming for a large show to commemorate the October 7 Hamas attacks will feature later in the year.

Initially, Sanadze wanted Goldstone Gallery to be run by a collective of Jewish artists but quickly realised too many were afraid to have their name publicly associated with such an institution – so she took on the role of artistic director alone. Sanadze wants the space to elevate voices that don’t often get airtime in Australia’s creative industry, including her own.

“It's not your typical commercial gallery. It's a place that is so badly needed in the broader art world. It’s a place for safety for artists. We’re going to be exhibiting artists who have been cancelled for political reasons, including Jewish and Israeli artists predominately, but also Chinese, Iranian, Korean, Russian and other artists,” Sanadze told The Jewish Independent.

“I’m interested in people who are brave enough to stand up by themselves because they believe in something. Often, they suffer a lot – some pay with their lives, some with their careers. Showcasing these artists is what’s so different about the work our gallery is doing.”

While Goldstone doesn’t represent artists, it does offer exhibitions, educational programs, residencies and publishing opportunities. For Jewish artists working in Australia’s creative industry post October 7, such a platform is sorely needed.

In response to the Centre of Jewish Artists (COJA)’s cultural safety survey – undertaken by a large and diverse cohort of Jewish artists with varying political, religious and cultural perspectives – 90% reported feeling unsupported by their workplaces; over 80% had left or were considering leaving creative projects because of the behaviours of their peers; and over 50% had been the direct recipient of antisemitic comments or behaviours by a colleague.

Such an experience is highlighted by the recent actions of Creative Australia, the main funding body for the Australian arts community. It was responsible for initially selecting Khaled Sabsabi, whose art has been criticised for glorifying Hezbollah, to represent Australia at the 2026 Venice Biennale; and has financially supported Matt Chun, an orchestrator of the doxing campaign with a prominent history of anti-Zionist advocacy.

“My experience is that the infrastructure – galleries, grants, residencies, museums – are no longer available to many Jewish creatives,” Sanadze continued.

“The problem is a pattern of pressure from those in high-standing positions – artists, curators, academics – making a statement against genocide and forcing the Jewish creative community to either agree or lose their career or funding.

“It’s terrifying in the art world. It’s a climate of fear. You have to fit their ideals, which is a lot of pressure, particularly if you’re Jewish and you’re not loudly demonstrating that you are a ‘good Jew’. Lots of Jewish artists are cancelling their shows because they don’t want to be on the radar.”

Sanadze expects the Gallery will face some hostility but she is adamant that she will not be cowed.

“We’re in Collingwood, so it’s not as comfortable as being in Caulfield, but we’re determined not to get chased out into only operating in the Jewish community. We want to do art where everybody does art and continue telling our stories,” Sanadze concluded.

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