US EditionDozens of Venice Biennale Artists Demand Israel’s Exclusion
Over 190 artists and curators call for Israel's removal from the Venice Biennale, citing its role in alleged genocide and structural violence against Palestinians, ANGA said.
- On March 17, nearly 200 artists, curators and staff signed an Art Not Genocide Alliance letter demanding Israel's exclusion from the 61st edition of the Venice Biennale.
- Longstanding campaign activity prompted the new letter as Art Not Genocide Alliance launched a 2024 petition with over 24,000 signatories claiming genocide and apartheid devastate Palestinian cultural life.
- Instead of the Giardini pavilion, Israel was placed in a temporary Venice Arsenale space this year after skipping 2025 for renovations and agreeing to keep the pavilion open in 2026.
- The Biennale Foundation responded that recognised nations may request participation, but the collective says the reintroductions triggered a political crisis and criticism of Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, president of the Venice Biennale.
- Invoking 1974's Chile protest and apartheid South Africa's exclusion, signatories cited a Lancet report of over 75,000 Palestinian deaths to argue for withholding Israel's representation.
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15 Articles
They said they refused to “allow the glorification of the Israeli state that commits genocide” and expressed solidarity with Palestinian artists.
Artist protest: 182 artists, curators, and staff of the upcoming Biennale, the most important event for contemporary art in the world, call…
The Activist Group Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) launched this week an open letter asking the Venetian Bienala to ban Israel's participation in the 2026 edition, writes Middle East Eye. The work was signed by 178 artists, curators and cultural workers involved in the Biennial. Israel is to be represented by the installation “Rose of Nothingness” of the Romanian artist Belu-Simion Făinau.
Dozens of Venice Biennale Artists Demand Israel’s Exclusion
With less than two months until the Venice Biennale opens, nearly 200 artists, curators, and staff participating in the 61st edition are calling on the event organizers to exclude Israel from this year's program in a new open letter. “The Venice Biennale’s complicity with the attempted destruction of Palestinian life must end. No artist or cultural worker should be asked to share a platform with this genocidal state,” reads the missive, released…
While the dispute over Russia's presence at the Venice Biennale is in full swing, curators and artists are now calling for Israel to be excluded from the exhibition. How will the Biennale face growing pressure?
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