Entire Venice Biennale Jury Resigns Days Ahead of Opening
The hand-picked panel was made up of Solange Oliveira Farkas, Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi
Days ahead of the opening of the 61st Venice Biennale, the jury that had been handpicked by late artistic director Koyo Kouoh to award this year’s top prizes resigned. The international panel included jury president Solange Oliveira Farkas, Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi. The resignation follows the panel’s “Statement of Intention,” which was posted on April 22.
“As members of the jury, we also have a responsibility towards the historical role of the Biennale as a platform that connects art to the urgencies of its time,” the statement read. “We acknowledge the complex relationship between artistic practice and nation-state representation that provides a central structure for the Venice Biennale, particularly the way this relation binds artists’ work with the actions of the state they represent. At this edition of the Biennale, we wish to set out our intention—to express our commitment to the defense of human rights and to the spirit of Koyo Kouoh’s curatorial project. Consequently, this jury will refrain from considering those countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.”
The Biennale’s organizers acknowledged the resignation in a brief press release on its website, and later announced that the awards ceremony that was previously scheduled to take place in May would be held on November 22, with two Visitors’ Lions to be awarded in place of the traditional format. Visitors eligible to vote for both the Best Participant in the 61st Exhibition “In Minor Keys” by Koyo Kouoh and the “Best National Participation” in the 61st Exhibition will include ticket holders who have visited both exhibition venues during the Biennale. Each ticket holder will be eligible to cast one vote for each of the two awards in one single session.
“All National Participations included in the 61st Exhibition, as per the official list, are eligible for the Visitors’ Lion for the Best National Participation, following the principle of inclusion and equal treatment among all Participants,” the statement said. “ This is consistent with the founding spirit of La Biennale, based on openness, dialogue, and the rejection of any form of closure or censorship. La Biennale seeks to be—and must remain—a place of truce in the name of art, culture, and artistic freedom.”