187 Venice Biennale Participants call for Israel to be barred from Exhibiting
187 Artists, curators, and art workers participating in the 61 Biennale have signed an open letter demanding that Israel be excluded from the event, saying that the Biennale’s “complicity with the attempted destruction of Palestinian life must end.”
Among the signatories to the missive, which was organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) are artists Sophia Al-Maria, Yto Barrada, Merriam Bennani, Alfredo Jaar, Tal Shani, and Cauleen Smith. Two of the exhibition’s curators, Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo and Rasha Salti, both of whom were selected by the Biennale’s late curator, Koyo Kouoh, to carry out her vision for the main show, “In Minor Keys” signed as well. The signatories represent more than thirty countries.
The call comes as the Biennale is already under pressure to exclude Russia. It is the second time ANGA has pushed back against Israel’s presence at the 2026 Biennale, which is set to open May 9.