Venice Biennale Faces 24-Hour Strike Over Israel's Pavilion

Overview

• A 24-hour strike is set to pause parts of the Venice Biennale’s opening week as activists protest Israel’s official pavilion.
• The walkout is organized by Art Not Genocide Alliance with Venice collectives and Italian unions ADL Cobas, USB and CUB, which describe it as the festival’s first coordinated strike.
• The action follows a letter signed by more than 230 Biennale participants calling for Israel’s exclusion and a large protest outside Israel’s temporary space in the Arsenale.
• Some pavilions plan symbolic actions, with Slovenia dimming its show to stream Radio Alhara, and Ecuador’s team still weighing a shutdown to keep sharing its message on the Amazon.
• The Biennale also faces blowback over Russia’s return, which drew a Pussy Riot protest, and its chairman defended inclusion by saying the exhibition is “not a court.”