Venice Biennale Protest Coalition Plans July 17 Mobilization for U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta
The activist coalition that helped drive one of the most visible protests at this year’s Venice Biennale is returning to the lagoon city with a new target. ANGA has called for supporters to gather on July 17 at 4 p.m. at Campo San Zaccaria, in central Venice, as U.S. Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta is expected to arrive.
The group said the action is part of a broader campaign against U.S. policy in Palestine and against Israel’s participation in the Biennale. In its statement, ANGA said the United States “continues to arm, finance and politically shield Israel’s genocide in Palestine.” An independent United Nations commission has characterized Israel’s actions in Palestine as genocide.
ANGA formed in early 2024 in response to Israel’s participation in that year’s Venice Biennale and has since expanded its campaign across successive editions of the exhibition. This spring, the coalition organized a 24-hour strike on May 8, the eve of the Biennale’s public opening. According to ANGA, more than 20 national pavilions in the Giardini partially closed in response, while the Austrian and Japanese pavilions remained shut for the entire day.
The strike followed an artist-led demonstration on May 5 during the professional pre-opening. Titled “Solidarity Drone Chorus,” the action brought about 60 artists to the Giardini entrance, where they hummed “Drone Song,” a viral composition by Gazan composer and music teacher Ahmed “Muin” Abu Amsha. The performance was described by organizers as an attempt to “sonically occupy space.”
The coalition also said nearly 200 artists, curators, and arts workers associated with this year’s Biennale signed an open letter it published in March calling for Israel’s exclusion. Artist Carolina Caycedo, who organized the action, said at the time that the protest was meant to register “discontent” with the politics surrounding the Biennale and to center Palestinian artists in the conversation.
ANGA’s latest announcement places the Venice Biennale within a wider cycle of cultural protest, linking the exhibition to the Freedom Flotilla, autumn 2025 Palestine strikes, and its boycott of what it calls the “Genocide Pavilion.” The message, the group said, remains unchanged: no business as usual with genocide.
