New demonstrations announced for July 17 as tensions continue to rise
The Venice Biennale continues to be one of the places where geopolitical tensions are reflected most intensely on the art world: from strikes by cultural workers to the closure of several national pavilions, from pro-Palestinian marches against the Israeli pavilion to the Pussy Riot demonstration against the Russian one. Popular mobilizations haven’t only characterized the opening days of the 61st International Exhibition, they persist, and in these very days new protests have been announced, bringing issues that inhabit our contemporary moment back into public attention.
The Belgium Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale on strike May 8. Photo Jennifer 8. Lee/WikiPortraits
Wikimedia Commons, license CC BY-SA 4.0
“On 17 July, we stand with the mobilisation against the visit of U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta, Trump’s representative in Italy, who arrives in Venice aboard his $450 million superyacht while the United States continues to arm, finance and politically shield Israel’s genocide in Palestine.”
This is what ANGA stated in a recent Instagram post, which currently represents the latest chapter of a Biennale that has been marked by unprecedented controversy. The Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) network, together with unions and international artist groups, had already organized a 24-hour cultural strike on May 8 demanding the exclusion of Israeli participation from the exhibition in support of Palestine. The initiative had led to the temporary closure of numerous national pavilions, including those of Austria, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea.
Even before the opening, more than two hundred artists and curators had signed an open letter demanding that the United States and Russia also be excluded, arguing that the Biennale could not maintain a position of neutrality toward governments accused, to varying degrees, of violations of international law.
The Netherlands Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale on strike May 8. Photo Jennifer 8. Lee/WikiPortraits Wikimedia Commons, license CC BY-SA 4.0
Given these premises, the imminent arrival of Ambassador Fertitta now risks reigniting tensions. A billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the Landry’s restaurant chain, Fertitta is expected to reach Venice aboard his 117-meter yacht Boardwalk, as part of a diplomatic tour along the Italian coast in “celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.” This visit was chosen precisely by activists as an occasion to relaunch protests against American foreign policy and Washington’s support for the Israeli government.
“We refuse the cultural normalisation of genocide. We refuse the militarisation of our cities. We refuse the capture of Venice by oligarchs, war profiteers and the representatives of imperial power.”
So continues ANGA’s appeal, a call not to downplay the event but to grasp its symbolic weight with respect to the city of Venice and international geopolitics. Pro-Palestinian collectives and cultural workers’ organizations have called for a day of mobilization, linking the political significance of the ambassador’s presence to the permissiveness of the government and institutions that allow this cumbersome presence in a city that has repeatedly been the stage for controversies of this kind (the most recent being the lavish wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez).
The Japan Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale on strike May 8. Photo Jennifer 8. Lee/WikiPortraits Wikimedia Commons, license CC BY-SA 4.0
In addition to the organized protest, a banner has appeared in Venice these days reading “Venezia non si usa – No war, fuck Trump, fuck Fertitta,” unfurled along Riva dei Sette Martiri. The initiative was carried out by Venice’s social center ‘Laboratorio Occupato Morion,’ which is displaying to the city and on social media a banner 117 meters long matching the length of Fertitta’s yacht, an action whose very dimensions send a protest message that, for everyone involved, is fundamentally the same: “FREE PALESTINE. VENEZIA NON SI USA” (Venice is not for sale/use).
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