OVER 1,000 artists have said they will not work with Bristol’s Arnolfini International Centre for Contemporary Arts for its “censorship of Palestinian culture.”

Musician Brian Eno, writers Raymond Antrobus, Isabel Waidner, Lola Olufemi and Huw Lemmey, actor Juliet Stevenson and Massive Attack’s Robert del Naja, are among the artists who have written an open letter in response to Arnolfini’s cancellation of scheduled film and poetry events programmed by Bristol Palestine Film Festival.

The letter points to “an alarming pattern of censorship and repression within the arts sector,” citing a series of recent cancellations and threats to artists advocating for Palestinian rights in Britain and globally.

“To silence Palestinian voices and narratives at this exact moment is not merely a betrayal of the fundamental principles of pluralism and freedom in the arts, it is also inhumane,” it reads.

Arnolfini said it cancelled the film and poetry events because it “could not be confident that the events would not stray into political activity.”

But last year, the publicly funded arts centre hosted an event that opposed Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, with part of the ticket sales going to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine.