The Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) has escalated its ongoing opposition to the Israel Pavilion, announcing a 24-hour strike and rally on May 8, the day before the much-hyped and highly contentious 2026 Venice Biennale opens to the public on Saturday.
ANGA was formed in objection to Israel’s inclusion in the 2024 Biennale, and began referring to this year’s presentation, which features an exhibition by Haifa-based artist Belu-Simion Fainaru, as the “Genocide Pavilion” as soon as Israel was officially announced as a participant in January.
In March, ANGA released an open letter demanding that the Venice Biennale organizers exclude Israel from the event, which runs through November 2026. That letter has currently been signed by over 200 artists, curators, and culture workers, among them Lubaina Himid, P. Staff, Sophia Al-Maria, Sara Flores, Farah Al Qasimi, Meriem Bennani, Alfredo Jaar, and Gala Porras-Kim, not to mention Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo and Rasha Salti, who are part of the late Koyo Kouoh’s curatorial team and are realizing her vision for the Biennale’s main show, “In Minor Keys.”
Inspired by ANGA’s activism, some 60 artists organized an action titled Solidarity Drone Chorus on Tuesday. One of the participants, Carolina Caycdeo, who also signed ANGA’s open letter, told ARTnews that many of the Arsenale artists are “outraged that the Biennale directors decided to relocate the Israeli Pavilion within the Arsenale. It throws us into complicity without us wanting to.”
According to ANGA’s Instagram, earlier today the group organized hundreds of protestors outside Israeli’s pavilion in the Arsenale with speeches, banners, and Palestinian flags “calling for the shut down of the Genocide Pavilion.” “Palestine is the world in its future tense,” read one sign.
The 24-hour strike will begin with a rally on Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. in Viale Garibaldi. According to the Art Newspaper, ANGA is collaborating with several labor and culture organizations in Venice, including Biennalocene and Vogliamo Tutt’altro, which represent art and culture workers; S.a.L.E. Docks, an independent art space; and Mi Riconosci, a cultural heritage group.
