Major Protests Take Place At Venice Biennale Previews The Art Newspaper International Art News And Events

The 2026 Venice Biennale has barely begun, and the Giardini is already absorbing the force of global conflict. On Wednesday, more than 200 people protested outside the Israeli pavilion, while Pussy Riot and FEMEN targeted the Russian pavilion and forced it to close its doors. The demonstrations turned the preview days into a public confrontation over war, representation, and the role of art institutions in moments of political crisis.

The Russian protest was led by more than 50 members of Pussy Riot and FEMEN, who wore bright pink masks as they surrounded the pavilion. In a statement, the groups said that Russia's“best citizens” are either imprisoned for anti-regime and pro-Ukraine actions or killed in jail, while Europe opens its doors to Putin's officials and propagandists. They argued that if art is meant to represent a country at the Venice Biennale, then artists imprisoned for anti-war, pro-Ukraine positions are the real face of modern Russia.

At the same time, a separate action has been unfolding daily at noon. The Solidarity Drone Chorus, made up of around 60 artists from the Biennale's main exhibition, is staging interventions throughout the preview period. The group performs a composition by Gazan artist Ahmed Muin that mimics the sound of drone weaponry heard nearly continuously during the Gaza war. Participants wear T-shirts naming artists from Gaza on the front and showing their work on the back. One member said the aim is to draw attention to artists in Gaza and express solidarity with their community. His shirt named Halima Kahlout, who was killed in 2023 along with ten members of her family.

The protests arrive after an already unstable lead-up. All five curators announced just days before the opening that they would not award any Golden Lions, the prizes typically given to the best pavilion. The jury had previously said it would not consider pavilions from countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, a statement widely understood as referring to Russia and Israel. The jury resigned a week later, which the publication understands followed intense state pressure.

The dispute over Israel's participation has been building for months. Earlier this year, 236 artists and art professionals from the Biennale and its pavilions signed a petition first circulated by ANGA in October 2025 calling for the Israeli pavilion to be canceled. During the 2024 edition, Israeli artist Ruth Patir closed her pavilion show until a ceasefire and hostage release agreement was reached in the Israel-Hamas war.

If the Venice Biennale has long been a stage for national self-presentation, this year it is also exposing how fragile that idea has become.

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