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Nine participants in the latest Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB), which opened on 19 September, have withdrawn in protest of exhibition sponsor Crown Family Philanthropies’ investment in General Dynamics, a military contractor that provides weapons to the Israeli military.
A letter sent to the CAB’s organisers on 18 September and signed by 22 individuals, collectives, studios and architecture firms—nearly half of whom also withdrew from the show in protest—notes that Crown Family Philanthropies owns a 10% stake in General Dynamics and that its “sponsorship is incompatible with the values of our work as well as with the event’s stated mission of addressing ‘architecture’s role in shaping our collective future’ and pursuing ‘radical change’”. The title of this CAB, its sixth edition, is SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change and it is being led by artistic director Florencia Rodriguez.
Participants in CAB first raised their concerns about Crown Family Philanthropies’ investment in General Dynamics last month, according to The Architect’s Newspaper. In response, the organisers clarified that funds received from Crown Family would not go toward the biennial exhibition itself but to support related education programming.
In the 18 September letter, the 22 signatories contend that the funds’ use to support educational initiatives “makes the situation even more painful” in light of General Dynamics’ manufacturing of weapons used by the Israeli military, including the 2,000lb MK-84 bombs it has deployed in its war in Gaza. In the war’s first 11 months, Israeli forces had destroyed or damaged 85% of school buildings in Gaza, according to a report by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The Israeli military’s attacks on schools in Gaza may qualify as crimes against humanity, according to an independent report commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
“The realisation that an educational programme in Chicago is funded with capital which (even if indirectly) comes from the gains made at the expense of the destruction of life and education facilities in Gaza is both contradictory and concerning,” the CAB participants’ letter reads in part. “We do not want our work to serve as a cultural facade or as reputational laundering for violations of human rights and war crimes currently under investigation (in Palestine or elsewhere).”
The CAB participants’ letter was sent to the biennial’s organisers two days after the United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel released a report concluding the Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
In the leadup to this week’s UN General Assembly in New York, ten countries that have traditionally been supporters of Israel—including France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Monaco and Portugal—have joined the overwhelming majority of countries who recognise Palestinian statehood.
The letter signed by the 22 CAB participants calls on the biennial’s organisers “to not accept further funding from Crown Family Philanthropies or any other sponsor involved in the perpetration of war crimes for future editions”. It reiterates the participants’ support for the biennial’s curatorial vision and dialogue that has occurred with the curatorial team, before concluding: “This, together with the variety of participants’ circumstances and a threatening political atmosphere haven’t made our decisions easy. And yet, we remain committed to ensuring that our field does not continue operating as a tool for the perpetuation or silencing of violence, inequality, dispossession and destruction.”
A spokesperson for the CAB tells The Art Newspaper that its leadership is not making any further statements regarding this issue, but did share two letters the organisers sent to the concerned artists from last month. “We are actively fundraising to meet the budget needs for the 2025-26 Biennial, and are not in a financial position to return funds already committed,” a letter dated 14 August reads in part. “Returning any donation with just a few weeks until opening would challenge our ability to raise the additional resources needed for this edition, and for our future.” The letter adds: “While our decision on this matter does not align with your wishes, we hope we can keep our shared focus on the remarkable work and ideas at the heart of this edition.”
This edition of the CAB features more than 100 architects, designers, artists and other creative practitioners presenting projects at the Chicago Cultural Center, Graham Foundation, Stony Island Arts Bank and on the grounds of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. In November, more than 25 additional large-scale projects will be added to the exhibition, which continues until 28 February 2026.
Past editions of the CAB have also come under fire for their sources of funding. The biennial received money from the oil and energy conglomerate BP (from the inaugural edition in 2015 to 2019) and, in 2023, from Krueck Sexton Partners, a Chicago-based architecture firm that was involved in planning the new US Embassy in East Jerusalem—a controversial move from Tel Aviv that was initiated during US President Donald Trump’s first term.
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