As the Venice Biennale gears up for its 61st edition, nearly 200 artists, curators, and staff participating in the event have signed an open letter demanding the exclusion of Israel from this year’s exhibition.  

An initial petition, led by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA), was formally delivered to the president and board of the biennale on October 2, 2025. Observing that the Israeli Ministry of Culture had issued an open call for artists and curators to represent the national pavilion, the group stated: “ANGA condemns this complicit invitation. . . . At a time when Israel continues to escalate its genocide with the destruction and ground invasion of Gaza City, following months of enforced famine, the Biennale should be ashamed to be in dialogue with the cultural representatives of the Israeli occupation.” Organizers did not respond, and in mid-January, Belu-Simion Fainaru was announced as Israel’s representative artist at the 2026 Venice Biennale.

As the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran continues to intensify and expand across the Middle East, ANGA published a subsequent open letter on March 17 reiterating their demand, along with a list of all 183 signatories, including artists, curators, and cultural workers involved in the national pavilions as well as the main exhibition titled “In Minor Keys.” In the letter, ANGA wrote: “The Venice Biennale’s complicity with the attempted destruction of Palestinian life must end. No artist or cultural worker should be asked to share a platform with this genocidal state. . . . Genocide cannot be tolerated by an institution that aims to investigate and celebrate the human values embodied by art.” 

ANGA launched a similar boycotting campaign during the opening week of the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. The petition gathered more than 24,000 signatories and ultimately led to Israel shuttering its pavilion.

Neither the Venice Biennale nor the Israeli Culture Ministry have responded to ANGA’s latest missive. 

The 61st Venice Biennale will run from May 9 to November 22.