An international coalition of artists and cultural figures has ramped up efforts to block Israel’s participation in the upcoming Venice Biennale.
"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 Tuesday.
The group said the Biennale has not responded and recalled that it was not the first time organizers 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 armories, for 2026.
"This is not a neutral administrative decision, this is active institutional support for a state committing genocide," the group said.
It 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 world's largest contemporary art exhibition, which takes place every two years in the Italian canal city, has been hit by resignations, boycotts and threats to cut funding over Russia's inclusion.
Russia's inclusion for the first time since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine sparked outrage from Italy's government and the European Union, which threatened to cut two million euros ($2.3 million) in funding from the Biennale.
The Biennale jury last week resigned after saying they would not hand out awards to countries led by figures subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) -- meaning Russia and Israel.
In the end, the Russian pavilion will not be open to the public during the Biennale, which runs from May 9 to November 22.
Instead, musical performances for the exhibit -- "the tree is rooted in the sky" -- will be recorded during this week's press previews and later projected on giant outdoor screens.
"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 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.
Other countries involved in conflict are represented in Venice, including the United States and Israel, which attacked Iran in late February. Iran had been due to attend, but pulled out.
About a hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in front of Israel's pavilion on Wednesday, holding up banners saying "No artwashing genocide".
