Italian Cultural Workers Call National Strike on 12 June

From Venice to a National Action

Cultural workers across Italy will take part in a national strike on 12 June 2026. The action follows a major mobilisation during the opening week of the 61st Venice Biennale. It is organised by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) together with cultural workers’ groups, grassroots organisations and trade unions. Organisers say the strike connects labour rights with opposition to war, art-washing and arms funding in the cultural sector.

Building on the Venice Biennale Strike

The national action follows a 24-hour strike that took place in Venice on 8 May. According to ANGA, around 30 national pavilions joined the strike. Two collateral exhibitions also participated. Several artists in the Biennale’s main exhibition took part as well.

Organisers estimate that more than 3,500 people joined demonstrations across the city. The movement now aims to expand beyond Venice. Events and assemblies are planned in around 20 cities. These include Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Bologna and Lecce.

Five Demands for the Cultural Sector

The coalition has published five key demands. The first calls for greater recognition of cultural work. The second focuses on fair pay and better working conditions. Other demands include stronger welfare protections and improved support for workers’ health and wellbeing. The final demand calls for an end to financial ties between cultural institutions and the arms industry. Organisers also oppose what they describe as the use of culture to normalise war and occupation.

A Growing Movement

Organisers argue that precarious work remains widespread across the cultural sector. They point to short-term contracts, outsourcing, unpaid labour and limited social protections. The strike aims to bring these issues into public debate. At the same time, it seeks to raise questions about funding, ethics and institutional responsibility. ANGA is calling on artists, curators, educators, technicians and other cultural workers across Italy to join the action on 12 June.

Image: Closed Spanish Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, 8 May 2026. Photo by Jennifer 8. Lee / WikiPortraits, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.