Nearly 9,000 individuals, comprising artists, curators and museum directors, have endorsed an online petition urging the exclusion of Israel from the upcoming Venice Biennale art fair. They accuse the country of perpetrating "genocide" in Gaza.
Israel has been facing mounting international criticism, including in the art world, over its military offensive in the Palestinian enclave, which was triggered by an Oct. 7 attack when Hamas carried out an unprecedented invasion of southern Israel.
Nearly 29,800 Palestinians, mainly women and children, have been killed and over 70,000 others injured by Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7 amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.
Israel rejects any accusation that its actions amount to genocide.
"Any official representation of Israel on the international cultural stage is an endorsement of its policies and the genocide in Gaza," said the online statement by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) collective.
ANGA said the Venice Biennale had previously banned South Africa over its apartheid policy of white minority rule and excluded Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said the appeal was an "unacceptable, as well as shameful ... diktat of those who believe they are the custodians of truth and, with arrogance and hatred, think they can threaten freedom of thought and creative expression."
He said in a statement that Israel "not only has the right to express its art, but also the duty to bear witness to its people" after being attacked by "merciless terrorists."
The Venice Biennale press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Signatories of the appeal include Palestine Museum U.S. Director Faisal Saleh, activist U.S. photographer Nan Goldin and British visual artist Jesse Darling, who won last year's Turner Prize.
Dubbed the "Olympics of the art world," the Biennale is one of the main events in the international arts calendar. This year's edition, "Foreigners Everywhere," is due to host pavilions from 90 countries between April 20 and Nov. 24.