On May 8, during the professional preview of the 61st Venice Biennale, members of Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) organized a 24-hour strike in support of Palestine and workers' rights, coordinated with Biennalocene, Vogliamo Tutt’altro, Sale Docks, Mi Riconosci, and Italian trade unions ADL Cobas, USB, and CUB. The strike involved artists, art workers, and front-of-house staff, with ANGA teams moving through the Arsenale and Giardini venues to mobilize participation under Italian labor law.
This strike matters because it challenges the art world's claim to political neutrality, arguing that cultural institutions like the Venice Biennale transfer the burden of political integrity onto individual artists and workers while disavowing institutional responsibility. The action links labor rights in the cultural sector to broader geopolitical issues, particularly Palestine, and highlights how funding structures, contracts, and patronage networks enable censorship and art-washing, making the strike a model for internationalist, worker-centered activism in the art world.