Art Prize Nixed Due to Palestinian Entry



(Lausanne, Switzerland) The luxury clothing brand company, Lacoste, has pulled its sponsorship of an art competition because a Palestinian artist, Larissa Sansour, submitted a photo series deemed "too pro-Palestinian."

The Elysee Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, had offered €25,000 to the winner of the Lacoste Elysee Prize for a work with the theme of "joie de vivre".

A jury was set to award the cash to one of eight candidates in January but the museum said this year's award had been suspended.

"The private partner's wish to exclude Larissa Sansour, one of the competition candidates, is behind the Elysee Museum's decision," the museum said in a statement.[…]

The artist said she was told by the museum last week that her nomination had been revoked by Lacoste who thought her project, although not directly anti-Israel, was "too pro-Palestinian" for the company to support.

Although Sansour wasn't awarded the prize due to controversy, she has received significant public exposure for herself and her art work which is arguably just as valuable.