Venice Biennale jury bars countries whose leaders face ICC charges, sidelining Russia and Israel
- Venice Biennale jurors said they will not weigh entries from countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court charges, effectively excluding Israel and Russia. - The five-member panel tied the move to “the defense of human rights” as it picks Golden and Silver Lions from 110 artists. - The decision lands as Brussels weighs freezing a €2 million Biennale grant over Russia’s pavilion return. (reuters.com)
The Venice Biennale’s awards jury says it will not consider countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court charges, a rule that sidelines Israel and Russia from prize contention. (e-flux.com) (jta.org) The five jurors published the statement on April 23 on e-flux, one day after their appointment to the 61st International Art Exhibition. They said they were selecting Golden and Silver Lion winners from 110 artists in Koyo Kouoh’s exhibition “In Minor Keys.” (e-flux.com) The panel is chaired by Solange Farkas, with Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma and Giovanna Zapperi. Their statement said the Biennale links artists to the nation-states they represent, and that jurors had a duty to respond to “the urgencies of its time.” (e-flux.com) The statement did not name countries, but the current Venice field makes the target clear. The International Criminal Court has arrest warrants out for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and both Russia and Israel have entries at the 2026 Biennale. (reuters.com) (jta.org) Israel criticized the move after the jury announcement. JTA reported that Netanyahu and his former defense minister deny the 2024 war-crimes and crimes-against-humanity allegations tied to the Gaza war. (jta.org) La Biennale di Venezia did not overrule the jurors. It said the awards panel acts with “full autonomy and independence” and called the announcement “a natural expression of the freedom and autonomy that La Biennale guarantees.” (reuters.com) The fight around the awards is colliding with a second dispute over Russia’s pavilion. Italy’s culture minister, Alessandro Giuli, said he will skip the Biennale’s pre-opening days and the May 9 inauguration because Russia is returning. (euronews.com) (artnews.com) Russia had not participated since 2022, the year of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Euronews reported that its pavilion will be open to media from May 6 to May 8, then closed to the public for the exhibition’s full run from May 9 to November 22, 2026. (euronews.com) Brussels has also stepped in. Reuters reported that the European Commission told the Biennale it intends to terminate or suspend a €2 million grant tied to the next three years, and gave organizers 30 days to respond. (reuters.com) Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco has defended Russia’s presence by arguing that the exhibition is a place where no nation recognized by Italy should be excluded. That position now leaves the show opening under two separate pressures: a jury refusing to award some national entries, and governments challenging whether those entries should be there at all. (euronews.com)
