Major protests erupted during the preview days of the Venice Biennale, with multiple demonstrations targeting the Israeli and Russian pavilions. On Wednesday, the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) held a large protest outside the temporary Israeli pavilion in the Arsenale, attended by over 200 people calling for its closure. Separately, the Solidarity Drone Chorus performed a sound composition by Gazan artist Ahmed Muin, with 60 artists wearing T-shirts bearing names of artists from Gaza. Meanwhile, Pussy Riot and FEMEN protested Russian participation, forcing the Russian pavilion to shut its doors. These actions follow the resignation of the entire Golden Lion jury days before the opening, after they stated they would not consider pavilions from countries whose leaders are charged with crimes against humanity by the ICC—widely seen as a reference to Russia and Israel.
This wave of protests matters because it marks an unprecedented level of political activism at the Venice Biennale, one of the world's most prestigious art events. The resignations and demonstrations signal a deepening divide between art institutions and geopolitical conflicts, particularly the Gaza war and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Biennale's leadership now faces intense pressure over its decisions to include pavilions from nations accused of human rights violations, raising fundamental questions about art's role in complicity, protest, and solidarity. The scale of the protests—far larger than in 2024—suggests that the art world is increasingly unwilling to separate aesthetic experience from political accountability.