Sara Leghissa's MAXXI Boycott Performance Denounces Museum's Ties to Arms Industry

At MAXXI L'Aquila, Milanese artist Sara Leghissa staged "MAXXI Boycott" as part of the Performative05 program (September 11–14, 2025). The performance publicly criticized the museum—renamed "Museo delle Armi del XXI Secolo"—for its alleged complicity in the genocide of the Palestinian people, linking Zionism, the art system, and the arms industry. Leghissa initially hesitated to accept the invitation but ultimately used the public billboard space to voice her protest. She stated her fee would be donated to an anti-Zionist organization supporting Palestinian liberation. The action follows previous controversies at MAXXI, including a May 2024 occupation of its Rome headquarters by pro-Palestinian activists and protests on May 17, 2025, after the opening of "Mediterranea – Visioni di un mare antico e complesso," a show organized with Med – Or Italian Foundation (a Leonardo subsidiary) and involving Italian Space Agency, European Space Agency, Telespazio, and e-Geos—companies providing satellite monitoring to Frontex. Leghissa, co-founder of the collective Strasse (2009) and organizer of Nobodys Business and NESSUNO, has a practice centered on site-specific interventions in public space. She trained at Teatro Valdoca and was selected for DanceWEB at ImPulsTanz Vienna. Her recent residencies include Sareyett (Ramallah) and La Casa Encendida (Madrid).