Venice Biennale drops Golden and Silver

The Venice Biennale is usually where the art world crowns winners fast — best national pavilion, best artist, rising talent. This year, that machinery has been pulled apart. The 2026 edition will not hand out the usual Golden or Silver Lions for the art exhibition, and Iran has also dropped out just days before the show opens. That turns a familiar prestige ritual into a much messier argument about judgment, politics, and who gets to stand on the stage at all. ### What actually changed? For the 61st International Art Exhibition, titled *In Minor Keys*, La Biennale says the traditional prizes for best artist and best national pavilion are gone. Instead, visitors will vote for “Visitor Lions,” and those results will be announced on the closing day, November 22, rather than at the opening. The exhibition itself still runs from May 9 to November 22, with previews on May 6, 7, and 8. ### Why is that such a big deal? Because the Golden Lion is not some side award — it is one of the art world’s highest-status prizes. It helps decide which artists, curators, and pavilions leave Venice with momentum, market attention, and institutional prestige. Replacing that jury-led system with a public vote is not a small format tweak. It changes what kind of legitimacy the Biennale is trying to claim. ### Why did the Biennale do it? The short version is political blowback. The move came after a five-member international jury resigned in protest over the inclusion of Russia and Israel in the competition. By dropping the standard jury prizes and shifting to visitor voting, the Biennale sidestepped the immediate crisis of having juries the mechanism. ### Where does Iran fit in? Separately, La Biennale said on May 4 that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not participate. After that withdrawal, the official list stands at 100 national participations, including Tanzania and Seychelles, which had been added earlier. So the exhibition is still huge, but the field is no longer the one organizers had previously announced. ### Is this only about prizes? Not really. The prizes are the visible part. Underneath is a fight over whether the Biennale can still act like a neutral global stage when national pavilions are, by design, tied to states. That contradiction has always been there. But this year it is sitting right on the surface — less “Olympics of art,” more argument over who should even be allowed in the arena. ### Why are people pulling the U.S. into it? Because the controversy did not stop with Russia and Israel. Anish Kapoor argued that the United States should also be excluded, attacking what he called the country’s politics and foreign policy. You do not have to agree with him to see the point — once participation becomes a moral test, the list of targets does not stay short for long. ### Does the art around Venice still matter? Yes — maybe even more. Venice during Biennale season is bigger than the central exhibition. Major collateral shows around the city include Marina Abramović at the Gallerie dell’Accademia, and museums and foundations are also featuring artists such as Lorna ### So what is the real story? The real story is that Venice has stopped pretending the old prize ritual can float above politics. It can still open the doors, fill the pavilions, and draw the crowds. But the authority to judge — and to make winners feel universally ratified — looks a lot shakier than it did a week ago.