The Gaza Gaze: Why Art Festivals Must Confront Politics As I walked through the sweltering streets of Locarno, Switzerland, last week, the scene felt eerily familiar.
A sea of protesters, estimated to be around 100 strong, had gathered outside the film festival's main venue, bearing a shroud with the haunting names of 60,000 individuals killed in Gaza since the outbreak of war two and a half years ago.
Protests have become an all too frequent occurrence at high profile art festivals across Europe. What struck me was not just the protest itself but its context within the festival's carefully curated atmosphere.