Zi7ZpiJVl2
In solidarity with the people of Palestine, all artists funded by the Irish government to play SXSW in Texas have cancelled their appearances, citing the US military’s ‘super sponsor’ status of the festival, and its inextricable links to weapons companies enabling genocide.
“We cannot in good conscience attend an arts festival that has ‘The US Army’ as a ‘Super Sponsor’ and is platforming RXT (formerly Raytheon), Collins Aerospace, and BAE Systems, the very companies selling the weapons that have murdered 31,000 Palestinians, over 21,000 of them women and children,” Kneecap, the first of the Irish artists to boycott the festival, wrote in a statement on Monday. “These organisations are literally profiting from and facilitating war crimes.”
These twelve Irish artists have courageously taken a stand, are bravely shining a spotlight on injustice, and were willing to sacrifice financial earnings in order to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine. They refused to implicitly endorse the military-industrial complex, and condemned the SXSW festival for making an affiliation between the arts and acts of violence.
They made this move knowing it would cost them thousands, but they did it anyway.
Stream their music, buy tickets to their upcoming shows, shop their merchandise and continue supporting artists that are willing to put profit aside and take a stand for what they believe in.
Here’s a selection of merch from the artists boycotting SXSW to shop now. Saoirse Don Phalaistín.
If you would like to reach out to your representatives closer to home, you can find your TD and Senators here or visit your local county council websites for a list of councillors.
If you would like to contribute to food and aid in Gaza, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders and the UNRWA are all working on the ground in the region and are desperate for your support.
