Venice jury bars awards for certain nations
- The Venice Biennale’s 2026 jury said it will not consider national pavilions for Golden or Silver Lions if their leaders face International Criminal Court charges, a move that bars Russia and Israel. - The five-member panel was announced on April 22 and issued the policy a day later, before the May 9 awards ceremony for an exhibition that includes 100 national participations. - The ruling lands amid fights over Russia’s return and calls to exclude Israel entirely before Biennale Arte opens on May 9. (labiennale.org) (politico.eu)
The Venice Biennale’s 2026 jury said Russia and Israel will not be considered for the exhibition’s top national awards. (nytimes.com) (artnews.com) The jury said it will “refrain from the consideration” of countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. That standard directly affects Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (nytimes.com) (politico.eu) The decision covers the Golden Lion and Silver Lion for national participations, not participation itself. Russia and Israel can still appear at Biennale Arte 2026, which runs from May 9 to November 22 in Venice. (politico.eu) (labiennale.org) La Biennale announced the five-member jury on April 22, with Solange Oliveira Farkas as president alongside Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi. The awards ceremony is scheduled for May 9. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) The jury tied its move to “the defense of human rights” and to curator Koyo Kouoh’s exhibition, “In Minor Keys.” La Biennale said the jurors act with “full autonomy and independence of judgment.” (artnews.com) (nytimes.com) The ruling drops into an argument that was already underway before the show opened. Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco had defended Russia’s return by saying the exhibition should remain “a space of truce” where art stands apart from geopolitics. (politico.eu) Pressure had also been building from inside the art world. ARTnews reported that dozens of artists in Kouoh’s main exhibition, along with some curatorial advisers, signed an open letter calling for Russia, Israel, and the United States to be excluded. (artnews.com) This year’s exhibition includes 100 national participations and 31 collateral events, making the prize ban narrower than a boycott but broader than a one-off protest. The pavilions remain in the show; the top official awards do not. (labiennale.org) (nytimes.com) The immediate next test comes on May 9, when Biennale Arte 2026 opens and the jury hands out its prizes under a rule it wrote for this edition before the doors opened. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2)
