Chicago Architecture Biennial Participants Withdraw Over Sponsor's Israel Ties

At the sixth Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB), 21 participants have either stepped back or expressed concerns about the financial backing from Crown Family Philanthropies, which holds a 10% stake in General Dynamics, a defense contractor involved in supplying arms to Israel. The event, themed "Shift: Architecture in Times of Radical Change," kicked off on September 19. Just a day earlier, a letter was sent to the CAB executive team referencing a UN commission report from September 16 that accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. Representing about 20% of the participants, the signers called for CAB to reject funding from Crown or any war crime-associated sponsors. While some departed, others remained, and CAB noted that Crown's funds were for educational purposes only, saying returning funds wasn't possible. They haven't publicly responded to the letter from September 18.