Venice jury and row

La Biennale has named the five-member jury for the 2026 Venice Art Exhibition as pressure mounts over Russia’s planned return to the show. (labiennale.org) The jury will be led by Solange Oliveira Farkas and includes Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma and Giovanna Zapperi, La Biennale said on April 22. The group will award the Golden Lion for best national participation, the Golden Lion for the exhibition, the Silver Lion and other prizes on May 9, 2026. (labiennale.org) The 61st International Art Exhibition opens in Venice on May 9 and runs through Nov. 22, 2026. Curator Koyo Kouoh titled this edition “In Minor Keys,” and the jury announcement arrived just over two weeks before the opening. (labiennale.org) The jury news landed as Latvia stepped up a campaign to block Russia from taking part in the exhibition. Latvia’s foreign ministry said on April 22 that it had raised the issue at the European Union Foreign Affairs Council and called for sanctions on Russian representatives “closely linked” to the Kremlin. (mfa.gov.lv) Latvia’s culture minister, Agnese Lāce, has also said she will boycott the Biennale opening on May 9 if Russia remains in the lineup. ANSA reported that Latvia’s petition had backing from 20 other countries plus Ukraine. (ansa.it) Ukraine is pressing Italy to refuse visas to Russian participants. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Ukraine had already sanctioned those participants and was asking the host country not to admit them for the 2026 Biennale. (interfax.com.ua) The European Union has also moved from warning to action on funding. ArtReview reported on April 23 that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told lawmakers the Commission would cut support for the Biennale over Russia’s return, after ArtNews had reported a day earlier that the bloc “intends” to do so. (artreview.com, artnews.com) Russia’s pavilion in Venice has been absent since the 2022 exhibition, when the artists and curator assigned to represent the country withdrew after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The fight over 2026 has turned a routine Biennale milestone — naming the prize jury — into part of a wider dispute over who gets a platform in Venice this spring. (artnews.com, labiennale.org)