Thousands of artists ask Venice Biennale to exclude Israel

Almost 9,000 people, including artists, curators, and museum directors, have signed an online appeal calling for Israel to be excluded from this year's Venice Biennale art fair and accusing the country of "genocide" in Gaza.

Israel has been facing mounting international criticism, including in the art world, over its military operation in the Gaza Strip following Hamas's attack on October 7.

Hamas's massacre left 1,200 people killed and 253 taken hostages, while Israeli actions in Gaza have killed, according to the Hamas-run health officials, nearly 30,000 people and displaced most of the territory's 2.3 million inhabitants.

Israel strongly rejects any accusation that its actions amount to genocide.

Artists criticize Israel's war on Hamas

"Any official representation of Israel on the international cultural stage is an endorsement of its policies and of the genocide in Gaza," said the online statement by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) collective.

ANGA noted that the Venice Biennale previously banned South Africa over its apartheid policy of white minority rule, and excluded Russia in the wake of the Kremlin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Venice Biennale press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Signatories of the appeal include Palestine Museum US director Faisal Saleh, activist US photographer Nan Goldin and British visual artist Jesse Darling, who won last year's Turner Prize.

Dubbed the "Olympics of the art world," the Biennale is one of the key events in the international arts calendar. This year's edition, "Foreigners Everywhere," is due to host pavilions from 90 countries between April 20-November 24.