The South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, scheduled for 6pm at 800 Congress Ave, has become the center of controversy due to its inclusion of the U.S. Army as a sponsor amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The Austin for Palestine Coalition and United Musicians and Allied Workers have called for a boycott of the festival and are demanding fair pay for musicians. This has led to several bands and artists, including Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, pulling out of the event in protest. The issue has sparked a wider debate on the role of sponsorship in cultural events, with Irish bands also voicing their opposition to defense contractor sponsorship, citing solidarity with the people of Palestine. Additionally, the situation has influenced the literary world, with prominent writers such as Naomi Klein and Michelle Alexander withdrawing from the PEN World Voices Festival over what they perceive as an inadequate response to the crisis in Gaza.
The decision by the editors of a literary magazine to retract an essay about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reveals much about how the war is hardening human sentiment, writes @PhilKlay: https://t.co/WTGhmHT6s6
Prominent Authors Turn Down Prestigious PEN World Voices Festival over Organization's Response to Gaza https://t.co/D6jiuK8kZR
ICYMI: the larger meaning of the #Guernica flap over the removal of an Israeli writer's article. https://t.co/KoJ6XbUgR8 cc: @PENamerica, @BovyMaltz, @PhilKlay (you're all cited here)
Get crafty for a cause with your favorite comrades! Tomorrow 3/16 at 12pm, join us and allies to create art, banners & more for use in Palestine Solidarity rallies and actions. RSVP for more info: https://t.co/WU3gEMw6sh https://t.co/4JRLsDGH10
Super Furry Animals' singer Gruff Rhys has pulled out of a major US festival in protest over 'the hyper violence inflicted on civilians in Gaza' https://t.co/dzZIFNrrBF
No war profiteers at SXSW! Pay your musicians fairly! Thank you to all who came to the rally yesterday to demand Fair Pay and No Warmongers at SXSW! https://t.co/ckZuLyZDQg
Prominent Authors Turn Down Prestigious PEN World Voices Festival over Org’s Response to Gaza https://t.co/D6jiuK8kZR
Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys pulls out of festival in protest https://t.co/EuYQfenvym
Several prominent writers, including Naomi Klein and Michelle Alexander, have withdrawn from the PEN World Voices Festival over the literary organization’s “inadequate” response to the crisis in Gaza. https://t.co/o4uLQJwUG0
SXSW: Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys pulls out of festival in protest https://t.co/RHfrEPyxdC
They won't stop until every organization is destroyed by performative moralism, like Guernica Magazine. Prominent writers pull out of PEN literary festival, citing Gaza https://t.co/YIem92e6fV
Irish bands tell SXSW: “Sponsorship from defence contractors is an act we find reprehensible" "We as Irish people have a lot of solidarity with the people of Palestine as we share a history of occupation and oppression by colonialist countries" @NewDad https://t.co/IVgEsGUx5o
Join Austin DSA and the Austin for Palestine Coalition for an Anti-SXSW Showcase featuring bands who ditched SXSW to protest the event's inclusion of war profiteers. We'll have band merch, orgs tabling, and food + drink available at Double Trouble. RSVP @ https://t.co/gWZaKWOnMw https://t.co/vIZYJ3vszI
Earlier this week, several bands started announcing they would pull out of the nine-day festival in protest of the United States’ ongoing support of Israel as its war with Hamas rages on. READ MORE: https://t.co/DaSmpOwERd
If you’re in Austin for #SXSW24 and wanna listen to good bands that never use AI or make deals with the defense industry, check out this show that my brother’s playing at… https://t.co/XyWEQd349A
Opinion: A literary magazine’s collapse reveals the censorship the Israel-Hamas war has wrought https://t.co/VQJW6r0WZG
Join us at 6pm for a rally to tell SXSW musicians demand FAIR PAY and NO WARMONGERS! Presented with @A4PCoalition 💪 800 Congress Ave, aka the US Department of Defense official SXSW stage https://t.co/Z5APM1MU44
Gruff Rhys (@gruffingtonpost) is the latest artist to have pulled out of SXSW, citing “the hyper violence inflicted on civilians in Gaza and beyond” https://t.co/dwwuaTHKYE
The Austin for Palestine Coalition is boycotting the U.S. Army as a sponsor of this year's festival, and United Musicians and Allied Workers are demanding fair pay. https://t.co/1khzNrU7OR