Taring Padi Brings 'People's Liberation' to Venice with Sale Docks and Public Mural at Morion

The Indonesian art collective Taring Padi, founded in 1998 in Yogyakarta, is presenting two projects in Venice in 2026. The exhibition 'Taring Padi: People's Liberation' at Sale Docks reactivates banners as tools for propaganda and resistance, including the controversial 'People's Justice' banner removed from documenta 15 in 2022. The collective has since produced a new series of banners between 2023 and 2026 in collaboration with international movements. A second project involves repainting the walls of the historic social center Laboratorio Occupato Morion in Venice. The exhibition runs until July 31 at Sale Docks, Dorsoduro 30100. Taring Padi operates without institutional funding and uses wayang shadow puppet imagery, linocut posters, and large banners to agitate, educate, and organize communities. The collective has around 17 active members spread across Indonesia, Australia, and Europe, and follows a non-hierarchical structure inspired by Karl Marx.