Israeli State Crimes in Palestine Since 14 May 1948 – Santiago Sierra

Beginning on September 22, 2026, London-based A/POLITICAL, in partnership with art institutions worldwide, presents Israeli State Crimes in Palestine since 14 May 1948, a new multi-day durational performance by Madrid-based artist Santiago Sierra. Joining institutions in Chile, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Palestine, Ukraine and elsewhere, SAW—the project’s only North American participant—will present the performance via livestream at Club SAW and in its exhibition space.

SCHEDULE - Livestream presentations

Club SAW

Tuesday, September 22, 1PM–6PM
Wednesday, September 23, 11AM–6PM
Thursday, September 24, 11AM–6PM
Friday, September 25, 11AM–6PM
Monday, September 28, 11AM–6PM

Free admission

SAW exhibition space

Saturday, September 26, 7PM–4AM

This livestream presentation will be held as part of the opening of the exhibition Body Politics: Art, Protest and the State, held in conjunction with the special free Pique fall edition.

Free admission

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Online livestream

Begins September 22 at 1PM EDT and continues until the performance is complete. Estimated duration: five to ten days.

To access the online livestream of the performance, available 24 hours a day, please click here: stream.statecrimes.org/player/

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This project is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Body Politics: Art, Protest and the State, which will be on view at SAW from September 26, 2026, to January 23, 2027.

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About the performance

Readers seated at a table continuously read aloud the names of Palestinians killed in historic Palestine by the Israeli state, its forces and settlers since the establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. The reading continues 24 hours a day until the list is complete, a process expected to take approximately five to ten days.

Where a victim has not been identified, the reader recites the Arabic word مجهول (majhul), meaning “unknown,” along with the location of their death. A/POLITICAL compiled the names from established sources, including 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 / Human Rights Centre. Additional sources include historical monographs, academic journals such as the Journal of Palestine Studies, UN records, legal files, published registers and archival material.

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 that there will inevitably be gaps in what can be recovered.

The performance forms part of an ongoing series that includes 1549 State Crimes (2007), 2205 State Crimes (2015), The Names of Those Killed in the Syrian Conflict Between the 15th March 2011 and the 31st December 2016 (2017), and 697 State Crimes (2018). It is also featured in DEATH & MONEY, Santiago Sierra’s exhibition curated by A/POLITICAL at Brutus, Rotterdam, from September 20 to December 20, 2026.

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Produced and curated by A/POLITICAL
Co-curator Maricel Álvarez
Investigative Research and Methodology Advisor Matt Kennard
Artistic Assistant Myrtín Antuña
Research and Data Analyst Mohamed Elmaazi
Transliteration by Amro Tabari and Shahd Dibas, creator of Maknuune, the open Palestinian Arabic lexicon

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SAW funders Canada Council for the Arts, City of Ottawa, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ottawa Community Foundation, Government of Canada, Government of Ontario

Partners A/POLITICAL, Palestinian Youth Movement Ottawa, Pique fall edition