A/POLITICAL PRESENTS: ISRAELI STATE CRIMES IN PALESTINE SINCE 14 MAY 1948, A NEW DURATIONAL PERFORMANCE BY ARTIST SANTIAGO SIERRA
On 22 September A/POLITICAL will present Santiago Sierra’s latest performance, taking the form of a continuous reading commemorating Palestinians killed in historic Palestine by the Israeli state, its forces and settlers since the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948.
The performance will begin at 6pm on the 22nd September at 6 Stannary Street, London, SE11 4AA and will remain open until midnight. Opening daily from 10am to 6pm, with the live-stream 24/7 via the APOLITICAL website and globally through a network of museums.
ISRAELI STATE CRIMES IN PALESTINE SINCE 14 MAY 1948 has been produced and curated by A/POLITICAL and co-curated with artist and performer Maricel Álvarez. The project is in partnership with a research institution based in Palestine, who have requested to remain anonymous.
The names have been compiled from established sources including the Gaza Ministry of Health lists via Iraq Body Count, B’Tselem, the Palestinian Information Centre via WAFA: The Palestinian News and Information Agency, The Shireen Observatory, and The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre, alongside ongoing research drawing on historical monographs and other scholarly publications, academic journals—including the Journal of Palestine Studies—UN records, legal files, published registers, archival material and other published sources.
These records exist largely because of the work of the Palestinian people and their commitment to documenting and remembering the lives and deaths of their people. A/POLITICAL acknowledges that, while it has collaborated with journalists, scientists and historians to produce the most complete and accurate record possible, the ongoing occupation, displacement, destruction of archives and restrictions on access to records mean there will inevitably be gaps in what can be recovered. Where a victim’s identity has not been recorded, each individual will be represented by the Arabic word مجهول (Majhul)—meaning “Unknown”.
In the context of the ongoing genocide in Palestine, and the continued recovery of names and records, this should not be understood as a final or complete account, but as part of an ongoing process of gathering and checking names and records in order to honour as many victims as possible. A detailed methodology outlining the scope and parameters of the research, together with a full source list, will be released at the launch of the performance. The list read during the performance will be made available at its conclusion.
ISRAELI STATE CRIMES IN PALESTINE SINCE 14 MAY 1948 follows the same methodology as The Names of Those Killed in the Syrian Conflict Between the 15th March 2011 and the 31st December 2016 (2017) and is the latest addition to an ongoing series that includes 1549 State Crimes (2007), a public recitation of the names of disappeared and murdered Mexican activists; 2205 State Crimes (2015), a public recitation of the names of those killed between July and August 2014 during Israel’s assault on Gaza, including both Palestinians and Israelis; and 697 State Crimes (2018), a public recitation of the names of those killed between 26 July 2014 and 30 August 2018 in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, featuring the names of Palestinians killed. Paying tribute to the minimalist approach to representing time and scale in On Kawara’s One Million Years project, Sierra has utilised this durational approach in previous works, such as the 2004 performance 120 Hours Of Continuous Reading Of A Telephone Book.
The performance has been produced on the occassion of DEATH & MONEY, Santiago Sierra’s upcoming exhibition curated by A/POLITICAL at Brutus, Rotterdam from September 20 to December 20, 2026, and will be livestreamed internationally including BPS22 Museum, Belgium; ICA, Bulgaria; SAW, Canada; Museum of Solidarity Salvador Allende, Santiago, Chile; Moderna Galerija (MG+MSUM), Slovenia, and Rua Red in Dublin.
Streaming link: statecrimes.org
SANTIAGO SIERRA
Santiago Sierra was born in Madrid in 1966, where he lives and works. He studied Fine Arts at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid and at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg (HFBK) between 1989 and 1991, as well as at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City between 1995 and 1997. He has carried out provocative actions around the world. Influenced by the formal language of the minimal and conceptual art movements of the 1960s and 70s, Santiago Sierra’s work addresses the hierarchies of power and class that operate in our modern society and everyday existence.
www.santiago-sierra.com / @estudiosantiagosierra on social media.
A/POLITICAL
Founded in 2013, A/POLITICAL supports artistic practices that test the limits of society’s aesthetic, political and moral boundaries. Centred around a collection of international socio-political art,
A/POLITICAL provides the space necessary for artists to operate outside of traditional institutions and commercial markets through acquisitions, large-scale commissions and legacy work with artists’ archives and estates.
www.a-political.org / @apoliticalorg on social media.
BRUTUS
Brutus is an exhibition space where makers are given carte blanche to experiment with art. At Brutus you won’t find a white cube or sterile museum spaces, but raw industrial halls where no limits exist for either artists or visitors in experiencing exhibitions and art. This results in oversized installations, theatre productions, performances, film screenings, and big celebrations.
www. brutus.nl / @Brutus_Rotterdam on social media.
Maricel Álvarez
Argentine performing artist, curator, and educator whose practice develops at the intersection of theatre, performance, dance, and visual arts. She has collaborated with renowned creators such as William Kentridge, Sophie Calle, Jérôme Bel, María Velasco, Santiago Sierra, and Alejandro González Iñárritu. She has starred in films screened at the world’s most renowned film festivals (Cannes Film Festival, Giornate degli Autori, San Sebastián Film Festival, and Sundance Film Festival) and has presented her pieces, performances, and installations in theaters and museums across the Americas, Europe, and Japan—including Teatro Colón, Berliner Festspiele, Nave 10 Matadero Madrid, and Museo Universitario del Chopo in Mexico City.
@maricelalvarez_ok on social media.
CREDITS
Investigative Research and Methodology Advisor: Matt Kennard. Artistic Assistant: Martín Antuña. Research and Data Analyst: Mohamed Elmaazi. Transliteration: Amro Tabari and Shahd Dibas (creator of Maknuune, the open Palestinian Arabic lexicon). Names read from Gaza in the period October 2023-May 2026 prepared by Iraq Body Count (IBC) from Gaza Ministry of Health information received 07 May 2026, and provided for this project on 5 August 2026.
