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No Genocide Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
178 artists, curators and art workers of the 2026 Venice Biennale demand Israel’s exclusion
A letter calling for the exclusion of Israel from the 61st International Art Exhibition has been signed by 178 participants and sent to the President and the Board of La Biennale di Venezia. Including 82 signatories from national pavilions, 55 art workers, and 41 participants in the main exhibition In Minor Keys, the letter represents an unprecedented coalition of Biennale participants.
No Business as Usual — Boycott the Genocide Pavilion
No visitors, no press, no parties: ANGA escalates with simultaneous protests outside the Israeli Pavilion and in the city of Venice
ANGA escalates its campaign with four significant actions: simultaneous protests outside the Israeli Pavilion and at Rialto Bridge; multiple poster campaigns throughout Venice celebrating Palestinian artists; distribution of a pamphlet documenting the history of protest at the Biennale; and display of ANGA exhibition labels by participating artists.
Boycott the Genocide Pavilion
No visitors, no press, no parties: ANGA escalates its campaign and calls for a boycott of the Israeli Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
ANGA’s open letter has gained almost 23,000 signatures. Supporters include public figures and academics such as Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Brian Eno, Tariq Ali, and Yanis Varoufakis, as well as previous and upcoming Biennale participants. ANGA calls for arts workers to refuse to accept the presence of official delegations, institutions, or persons tied to the Israeli government at any events.
ANGA Reply to the Venice Biennale
ANGA’s official response to the Venice Biennale’s refusal to exclude Israel — available in English and Italian
Despite previously excluding South Africa due to its apartheid regime and condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biennale has refused ANGA’s request. ANGA refuses empty rhetoric and rejects any exceptionalism for the genocidal apartheid state of Israel currently on trial at the highest court in the world.
ANGA is calling for the exclusion from the Venice Biennale of the apartheid state of Israel, which is currently on trial at the International Court of Justice for ‘plausible genocide’ against Palestinians in Gaza.
The Biennale is not a disinterested party on the global stage of culture. In 2022, it publicly condemned Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, made statements of unequivocal support for the besieged country, and provided it with a dedicated exhibition space in the Giardini. Russian state officials, institutions, and affiliates were banned from the event completely. The Biennale’s silence over the deaths of more than 30,000 Palestinians at the hands of Israel is deafening.
We are aware that the decision to shutter the Russia Pavilion in 2022 was taken by the principled artist and curatorial teams of Russia in protest against their country’s military aggression in Ukraine. We note Israeli participants could do the same.
The Biennale had a historic role in dissuading, sidelining, and excluding South Africa due to its globally condemned and ultimately UN-sanctioned apartheid regime. The case of Israel, currently on trial at the ICJ for plausibly committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, is no different.
No double standards. No death in Venice. We call for the exclusion of Israel from the Venice Biennale.
ANGA chiede l’esclusione di Israele dalla Biennale di Venezia. Uno Stato costruito su un sistema di apartheid, attualmente sotto processo presso la Corte Internazionale di Giustizia per “plausibile genocidio” contro la popolazione palestinese di Gaza.
La Biennale non è un soggetto disinteressato sul palcoscenico globale della cultura. Nel 2022 La Biennale ha condannato pubblicamente l’invasione illegale dell’Ucraina da parte della Russia, ha rilasciato dichiarazioni di inequivocabile sostegno al Paese assediato e gli ha dedicato uno spazio espositivo ai Giardini. I funzionari statali, le istituzioni e gli affiliati russi sono stati banditi completamente dall’evento. Il silenzio della Biennale sulla morte di oltre 30.000 palestinesi per mano di Israele è assordante.
Siamo consapevoli che la decisione di chiudere il Padiglione russo nel 2022 è stata presa da artistə e curatorə russə per protestare contro l’aggressione militare del loro paese in Ucraina. Notiamo che lə partecipanti israelianə potrebbero fare lo stesso.
La Biennale ha avuto un ruolo storico nel dissuadere, marginalizzare ed escludere il Sudafrica a causa del suo regime di apartheid, condannato a livello mondiale e dalle Nazioni Unite. Il caso di Israele, attualmente sotto processo presso la Corte Internazionale di Giustizia per aver plausibilmente commesso un genocidio contro la popolazione palestinese di Gaza, non è diverso.
Nessun doppio standard. Niente morte a Venezia. Chiediamo l’esclusione di Israele dalla Biennale di Venezia.
Response to Gennaro Sangiuliano, Italian Minister of Culture
ANGA responds to the Italian Culture Minister’s dismissal of the campaign — available in English and Italian
Over 13,000 people have committed to the campaign to exclude Israel from the Venice Biennale. The Biennale cannot be a “space of freedom, meeting, and dialogue” when providing a platform for Israel as its apartheid state commits genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
ANGA is a collective of artists, curators, writers, and arts workers engaged in discursive means available to us as an intrinsic part of civil society. Over 13,000 people have committed to the campaign to exclude Israel from the Venice Biennale. The Biennale cannot be a “space of freedom, meeting, and dialogue” when providing a platform for Israel as its apartheid state commits genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Culture is not a “bridge between people and nations” when one nation is involved in the elimination of another, the citizens of which are kept behind a dividing wall. We insist on dignity, humanity, and accountability on the global stages of culture. We stand against the genocide in Gaza, and the killing of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and call for Israel to be held to the same standard as its peers, in culture as in law. Freedom of thought and creative expression are only threatened when artists turn away from reality.
We call for the exclusion of Israel from the Venice Biennale.
ANGA è un collettivo di artistə, curatorə, scrittorə e operatorə culturali. Utilizziamo i mezzi discorsivi a nostra disposizione e che sono parte intrinseca della società civile. Oltre 13.000 persone si sono impegnate nella campagna per escludere Israele dalla Biennale di Venezia. La Biennale non può essere uno “spazio di libertà, incontro e dialogo” quando fornisce un palcoscenico a Israele, uno stato che esercita un regime di apartheid e che sta commettendo un genocidio contro il popolo palestinese a Gaza.
La cultura non può essere un “ponte tra le persone e le nazioni” se una nazione è coinvolta nello sterminio di un’altra, lə cui cittadinə sono imprigionate dietro un muro di separazione. Insistiamo sulla dignità, sull’umanità e sulla responsabilità nei palcoscenici globali della cultura. Ci opponiamo al genocidio a Gaza e all’uccisione dellə Palestinesi nella Cisgiordania occupata, e richiediamo che venga applicato a Israele lo stesso standard che viene applicato alle altre nazioni, in ambito culturale come in ambito legislativo. La libertà di pensiero e l’espressione creativa sono minacciate solo quando lə artistə si rifiutano di guardare in faccia la realtà.
Chiediamo l’esclusione di Israele dalla Biennale di Venezia.
No Genocide Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) calls for the exclusion of Israel from the Venice Biennale
Our open letter, which went live at 7am GMT on Monday 26 February, has already secured over 6,000 signatories including many prominent art world figures, past and present Biennale exhibitors, curators and workers, including Palestinians and Israelis. The Venice Biennale discouraged apartheid South Africa from exhibiting between 1950–1968, and issued an official ban in 1968. We believe these precedents should be followed in relation to Israel.