Venice Biennale Swamped in Protests Ahead of Planned Strike
9May 7, 2026
The Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA), an international group of culture workers that was formed in order to call for the exclusion of Israel from theVenice Biennale, announced via press release this week that they are planning a 24-hour strike for Friday, May 8 in tandem with the previews for this year’sinternational exhibition.
A group that will include a local group of culture workers called Biennalocene, as well as the Italian trade unions Associazione Difesa Lavoratori and Unione Sindacale di Baseare, are planning to hold a protest rally on Venice’s Viale Garibaldi on Friday afternoon, perHyperallergic.
ANGA won’t be the first to push back against this year’s Biennale. On Tuesday, according to ArtReview, sixty artists assembled in front of the entrance to the Giardini, an area of Venice parkland, to “sonically occupy the space.” Related Anish Kapoor Condemns Inclusion of US in Venice Biennale Venice Biennale 2026: Poland’s Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski on Liquid Tongues
The action was intended to “to draw attention to the plight of those affected by genocide and war in Palestine and elsewhere – and the impunity afforded to those perpetrating it,” and repeat actions are planned. The Latvian pavilion has also encouraged anyone attending the Biennale to wear a design made by artist Krišs Salmanis that reads: “Death in Venice – Russia go home!”
The 2026 Biennale has already garnered significant controversy. There was the decision to include Russia, which prompted the EU to cut funding slated for the 2028 Biennale; Russia’s pavilion will now also be closed to the public.
On Wednesday, dissident artists Pussy Riot stormed the Russian pavilion while waving Ukrainian flags and calling for disobedience. “I don’t understand why [the Biennale] is so adamant in supporting this blood-soaked Russia art,” Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova told Artnet.
After their decision to exclude “countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court” from contention for the Golden and Silver Lion prizes, the entire 2026 Venice Biennale jury resigned last week; in the days prior, multiple prominent artists discussed refusing invitations to participate in the United States pavilion.