“Come si cura una mostra sul genocidio?”: Faisal Saleh e la domanda palestinese che attraversa la Biennale di Venezia
At the 2026 Venice Biennale, a collateral exhibition titled “Gaza – No Words – See the Exhibit” presents 100 embroidered works using the traditional Palestinian technique of Tatreez. Curated by artist Faisal Saleh, founder of the Palestine Museum US, the show transforms embroidery from decoration into political testimony, reconstructing scenes from Gaza over the past two and a half years: shrouded bodies, killed children, mothers bidding farewell, bombed hospitals. The exhibition is housed at Palazzo Mora and has been called by many visitors “the real Palestinian Pavilion” of the Biennale, though it is not an official national pavilion.
This exhibition matters because it directly confronts the ongoing crisis in Gaza at a moment when the Biennale is otherwise marked by protests, diplomatic tensions, and symbolic clashes. Saleh argues that Western media have failed to adequately cover the events in Gaza, and that art can reach people's hearts where journalism has fallen short. The show raises urgent questions about the Biennale's rules—which only recognize officially recognized states—and about the ethics of curating trauma, forcing visitors to grapple with the collision between the slow, handmade craft of embroidery and the brutality of contemporary images.