Venice Biennale Jury Resigns
Responsible for awarding the Golden Lions, the women-led jury stepped down a week after its statement of intent to omit Russia and Israel from consideration.
The Venice Biennale's international jury announced its collective resignation today, April 30 — eight days after issuing a statement outlining its intent to omit Russia and Israel from awards consideration. The Biennale Foundation has confirmed receipt of the jury's decision.
The short and straightforward notice was published on e-flux today as the lead-up to the 61st Biennale descends into chaos over Russia's and Israel's participation in the national pavilion exhibitions. In its April 22 statement, the jury, whose members had been selected by the Biennale's late Art Director Koyo Kuouh, asserted their “commitment to the defense of human rights” in the collective decision to “refrain from considering those countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.”
A spokesperson for the Biennale Foundation told Hyperallergic at the time that the jury's decision to omit Russia and Israel “represents a natural expression of the freedom and autonomy which La Biennale guarantees.”
The jury, which included Elvira Dyangani Ose, Zoe Butt, Marta Kuzma, Giovanna Zapperi, and Solange Farkas (who served as the chair), is responsible for awarding the Biennale's Golden Lion awards to the best national pavilion exhibition and the best artist participating in the main exhibition, In Minor Keys.
Ahead of the members' resignation, Italian Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli publicized his decision to skip the Biennale's preview dates and opening ceremony in light of Russia's participation. (It was recently revealed that the Russian pavilion would only be open during the preview days and closed for the remainder of the event's six-month run in compliance with sanctions.)
However, Giuli recently pledged his support of Israeli pavilion artist Belu-Simion Fainaru, with Israeli media outlet Haaretz reporting today that the culture minister “promised that Fainaru's work would be promoted and exposed in Italy as part of an initiative by the Ministry of Culture.”
The Biennale Foundation has maintained that it “rejects any form of exclusion or censorship of culture and art” against the growing calls to bar Russia and Israel from the event.
The jury's drastic move to resign from the role altogether echoes Art Not Genocide Alliance's (ANGA) call to boycott or withdraw entirely from the Biennale over its complicity in the “social and cultural normalization of genocide” through Israel's participation, a movement that has garnered worldwide support.
Alongside thousands of signatories who signed ANGA's open letter to the Biennale Foundation demanding the exclusion of Israel, dozens of national pavilion artists and curators, and a majority of In Minor Keys exhibitors, have endorsed related missives.
