Israel at the Venice Biennale 2026

A return amid art, sculptures, installations and renewed controversy

Less than a year before the opening of the Venice Biennale 2026, the confirmation of Israel’s participation brings the relationship between contemporary art, politics, and institutional responsibility back to the center of debate. After its de facto absence in 2024—when the Israeli Pavilion remained closed for the entire duration of the exhibition—the Jewish state announces its return with a project that, even before being officially presented, has already sparked intense international controversy.

Israel’s presence at the upcoming Biennale will not take place in the historic Giardini, where the national pavilion is currently undergoing renovation, but in the spaces of the Arsenale. A logistical decision that inevitably also takes on symbolic significance, given the concentration of Middle Eastern countries’ pavilions in that area of the exhibition.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with a death toll that continues to rise even after the so-called ceasefire, makes Israel’s participation particularly sensitive. Several collectives and groups of artists have voiced strong opposition, once again calling for the exclusion of the State of Israel from the exhibition.

Among the most active voices is the collective ANGA – Art Not Genocide Alliance, already at the forefront of protests during the 2024 Venice Art Biennale. On that occasion, the pavilion entrusted to artist Ruth Patir remained closed as a form of political protest, marking one of the most controversial episodes in the recent history of the Venice Biennale. Today, ANGA once again labels the Israeli pavilion a “Genocide Pavilion,” renewing its call for an institutional boycott. This position aligns with the campaigns promoted by PACBI, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

In response to calls for exclusion, the Venice Biennale has reiterated its stance: the institution cannot prevent the participation of countries recognized by the Italian state. This principle has been applied in previous editions, allowing the presence of nations involved in international conflicts and, at the same time, preventing the existence of an official national pavilion for Palestine, which is represented only through collateral events.
Within this debate, Fainaru has taken a clear stance against the boycott, arguing that art should remain a space for dialogue and openness, not exclusion. According to the artist, the Venice Biennale represents a place where dialogue can still occur, even under conditions of strong political tension.

The project presented by Fainaru for 2026, entitled Rose of Nothingness, will be curated by Sorin Heller and Avital Bar-Shay, with whom the artist has collaborated in the past. The installation, originally conceived in 2015, revolves around the themes of water and transformation: sixteen pipes slowly release a dark liquid into a basin, creating an image rich in symbolic references. The number alludes to Kabbalah, while the black water evokes the “black milk” of Paul Celan’s poetry.

Described as a kind of “spatial Talmudic page,” the work invites the viewer into an experience of waiting, silence, and contemplation, in which time and perception become integral parts of the piece.

According to Fainaru, exhibiting within a historic building of the Arsenale, rather than in a modern pavilion, opens up a more layered dialogue with the space and with neighboring countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. A placement that inevitably also reinforces the geopolitical reading of Israel’s participation, making the Venice Biennale 2026 one of the key vantage points for observing the relationship between contemporary art, institutions, and global conflicts.