MILAN (AP) — Numerous artists taking part in the current Venice Biennale contemporary art exhibition are considering legal proceedings unless organizers remove their names from a visitor ballot system that replaced traditional jury awards for the prestigious Golden Lions.
The Venice Biennale launched what many consider its most tumultuous and controversial edition in years on May 9, after the jury resigned to protest the inclusion of Israel and Russia. The preview week before public opening featured noisy demonstrations outside both the Israeli and Russian exhibition spaces.
Rather than traditional jury recognition, organizers implemented a visitor voting system at the two primary locations, the Giardini and the Arsenale, to select winners for best national pavilion and top participant in the central exhibition called “In Minor Keys,” developed under the direction of the late Koyo Kouoh. Winners will be announced when the event concludes on Nov. 22.
A protest letter released Wednesday criticized the voting system for its “lacked transparency and accountability,” noting that organizers ignored the artists’ initial removal request submitted on May 20. The letter also received signatures from curators and commissioners.
The artists announced they were initiating legal proceedings.
When asked to respond, the Biennale provided a May 28 correspondence to the artists, curators and commissioners stating they would maintain all names on the voting list “to guarantee all visitors have the freedom of expression,” while confirming that protest signatories would be excluded from prize consideration.
The protest letter described this approach as “a waste of time” by requesting visitors “to cast votes that cannot be counted.”
In their resignation statement, the jury specifically mentioned Russia and Israel, referencing International Criminal Court investigations into crimes against humanity related to conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Those requesting removal from the visitor prize system include approximately 70 artists in the main exhibition and nearly 40 national pavilions, including Iceland, Norway and Denmark, which have spearheaded efforts to ban Russia from future Biennales following its comprehensive invasion of Ukraine.
The list also includes Austrian artist Florentina Holzinger, whose display incorporating recycled waste water from portable toilets outside the Austrian Pavilion has become among the Biennale’s most visited attractions.
