Nearly half of the artists involved in the international exhibition, along with 16 national pavilions, signed a withdrawal statement in support of the jury’s resignation.
The Belgian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale closed on May 8 as part of cultural workers’ strike for Palestine. (photo Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic)
As the 61st Venice Biennale opens to the public on May 9, 54 artists from the international exhibition and 16 national pavilion teams have announced their withdrawal from awards consideration, aligning themselves with the jury’s resignation. A detailed list of the withdrawing artists, duos, and collectives is provided at the conclusion of this article.
The jury of the Biennale resigned on April 30, following a declaration that they would exclude from awards any countries whose leaders are currently indicted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which excluded Israel and Russia. The Biennale Foundation confirmed to Hyperallergic that before the jury’s resignation, Israel Pavilion artist Belu-Simion Fainaru filed legal warnings, claiming the jury’s stance was antisemitic and discriminatory based on nationality.
Consequently, the Foundation canceled the Golden Lion awards for this year and introduced the “Visitor Lions,” determined by public voting, to be announced on the Biennale’s last viewing day, November 22. The Biennale clarified that all national pavilions, including Israel and Russia, would be eligible for these new awards.
Today, nearly half of the 111 artists, duos, and collectives in In Minor Keys, along with 16 national pavilion exhibitors, announced their withdrawal from the Visitor Lions consideration in a statement on e-flux.
This announcement follows ongoing protests at the Russian and Israeli pavilions during the preview period and a significant labor strike that closed several pavilions and the Arsenale complex, where Israel’s temporary pavilion is located.
Hyperallergic has contacted the Biennale press office for further comments.
When the Biennale Foundation announced the participation of Israel and Russia for the 61st Venice Biennale in early March, many In Minor Keys artists and pavilion exhibitors demanded the exclusion of Israel. Carolina Caycedo, among others, expressed to Hyperallergic her concern about being forced into complicity by sharing the Arsenale with the Israeli State Pavilion, which had not been there before.
The signatories are as follows:
In Minor Keys
Fabric Aragno
arms ache avid aeon
Sammy Baloji
Éric Baudelaire
Sabian Baumann
Nancy Brooks Brody Estate
BuBu de la madeleine
Carolina Caycedo
Annalee Davis
Bonnie Devine
Nolan Oswald Dennis
rana elnemr
Joy Episalla
Rachel Fallon
Sofía Gallisá Muriente
Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige
Sohrab Hura
Mohammed Joha
fierce pussy
Alfredo Jaar
Michael Joo
Nina Katchadourian
Guadalupe Maravilla
Natalia Lassalle Morillo
Florence Lazar
Zoe Leonard
Alice Maher
Sally Mizrachi
Avi Mograbi & Avital Barak
Tuan Andrew Nguyen
Otobong Nkanga
Hagar Ophir
Uriel Orlow
Alan Phelan
Walid Raad
Mohammed Z. Rahman
Tabita Rezaire
Guadalupe Rosales
Yo-E Ryou
Rose Salane
Carrie Schneider
Hala Schoukair
Berni Searle
Yoshiko Shimada
Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser
Cauleen Smith
Vera Tamari
Jo-ey Tang
Carrie Yamaoka
Raed Yassin
Thania Petersen
National Pavilion Exhibitors
Belgium
Miet Warlop, Artist; Caroline Dumalin, Curator & Team
Luxembourg
Aline Bouvy & Stilbé Schroeder
France
Yto Barrada
Slovenia
Nonument Group (Neja Tomšič, Martin Bricelj Baraga, Nika Grabar, Miloš Kosec); Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez, Curator
Latvia
MAREUNROL’S, Bruno Birmanis & Team
Lithuania
Egle Budvytyte, Artist; Louise O’Kelly, Curator
Switzerland
Gianmaria Andreetta, Luca Beeler, Miriam Laura Leonardi, Lithic Alliance, Yul Tomatala, Nina Wakeford
Spain
Oriol Vilanova
The Netherlands
Dries Verhoeven, Artist; Rieke Vos, Curator
Poland
Bogna Burska & Daniel Kotowski, Artists; Ewa Chomicka & Jolanta Woszczenko, Curators
Ecuador
Boloh Miranda, Tatiana Lopez, Sani Montahuano, Mukutsawa Montahuano, Enoc Merino, Tawna Collective
Ireland
Isabel Nolan, Artist; Georgina Jackson, Curator; Cian O’Brien, Producer
Kosovo
Brilant Milazimi
Finland
Juha Huuskonen, Commissioner
Czech Republic and Slovakia
Jakub Jansa, Selmeci Kocka Jusko, Artists; Peter Sit, Curator
Cyprus
Marina Xenofontos
