An international group of artists, curators, writers and cultural workers intensified its campaign against the inclusion of the Israeli pavilion as the 61st International Art Exhibition prepares to run from May 9 through November in Venice, Italy.
"On 17 March 2026, ANGA (Art Not Genocide Alliance) delivered a letter to the Venice Biennale demanding the immediate exclusion of the Israeli Pavilion. That letter now has 236 signatories. This includes 18 entire national pavilion teams, 113 artists, 38 curators, 85 art workers, and continues to grow," ANGA said in a statement on Tuesday.
The group said the Biennale has not responded and recalled that it was not the first time organisers had ignored such appeals.
"In 2024, ANGA's open letter calling for the removal of the Israeli Pavilion gathered over 24,000 signatures. Those demands were ignored. The Biennale continues to demonstrate that it considers the concerns of the artists, curators and workers, who make it possible, beneath its notice," the statement added.
ANGA said pressure from the campaign contributed to the closure of the Israeli pavilion in 2024 at the historic Giardini site, but noted that the Biennale later provided Israel with an alternative venue at the Arsenale di Venezia — a complex of former shipyards and armouries — for 2026.
"This is not a neutral administrative decision, this is active institutional support for a state committing genocide," the group said.
Double standards
The group further noted that Russia’s 2026 exhibition would be closed to the public after limited access during the preview period, arguing that the differing treatment exposed “double standards.”
"The message from governments and funders is unambiguous: Russia should not be here. Yet Israel, whose leadership holds active ICC warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity, faces none of these consequences. No restrictions on access. No funding cuts. No conditions," ANGA said.
Instead, the group argued, the Biennale “has handed Israel a new venue, new support, a seat at the table.”
"The Biennale excluded apartheid South Africa from 1968 to 1993. It denounced Pinochet's coup in Chile. These are the institution's own proclaimed principles. To apply them selectively is to have no principles at all," the statement added.
The group also called for a 24-hour strike across the cultural sector on Friday during the Biennale’s opening period.
"The strike is a collective refusal of genocide normalisation in culture and, of the precarious labour conditions the Biennale is built on. ANGA calls on signatory artists, curators, and art workers to close their pavilions and venues," it said.
