Thousands call for Israel to be banned from Venice Biennale art fair

Almost 9,000 people, including artists and museum directors, have called for Israel to be excluded from this year's Venice Biennale art fair over its "genocide in Gaza".

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

The collective said that the Venice Biennale had previously banned South Africa over its apartheid policy, and excluded Russia after its invasion of Ukrain in 2022.

Signatories of the statement include Faisal Saleh, director of the Palestine Museum US, and British artist Jesse Darling, who won last year's Turner Prize.