The 61st Venice Biennale opened this Saturday under a cloud of geopolitical turmoil, shifting the spotlight from the avant-garde installations and masterworks to the visceral frustrations of the street. What is traditionally a celebration of global contemporary art has instead become a mirror for the world’s most fractured alliances, characterized by mass resignations, empty pavilions, and rowdy demonstrations that have spilled across the Venetian canals.
In an unprecedented move that has stripped the event of its traditional critical authority, the Biennale is proceeding without a professional jury. The entire five-member awards panel resigned on April 30, following a deadlock over the ethics of awarding prizes to nations whose leaders face accusations of crimes against humanity. This vacuum of leadership has triggered a domino effect, with dozens of high-profile artists and several national pavilions withdrawing from awards consideration in a coordinated act of solidarity.
The atmosphere in Venice is one of high tension, where the boundaries between the gallery and the protest line have effectively vanished. For many attendees, the art is no longer the primary attraction; the primary attraction is the struggle over who is allowed to be represented on the world stage during times of active conflict.
A Crisis of Governance and the ‘People’s Vote’
The collapse of the jury serves as the central nerve of this year’s unrest. Jury members Solange Farkas, Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi stepped down after declaring they would not grant prizes—including the coveted Golden Lion for best national pavilion—to countries whose governments or leaders have been charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The focus of this criteria primarily targeted Israel and Russia.
In response to the vacancy, Biennale leadership has pivoted to a democratic, albeit controversial, solution. Ticket-holders will now determine the winners through an anonymous email-voting process. While some see this as a necessary democratization of art, critics argue it replaces curated expertise with a popularity contest influenced by the prevailing political winds of the moment.
The fallout has extended to the artists themselves. A statement of withdrawal from awards consideration has been signed by luminaries including Laurie Anderson, Alfredo Jaar, and Zoe Leonard. They are joined by the national pavilions of France, Ecuador, and the United Arab Emirates, signaling a broad coalition of dissent against the festival’s current management of geopolitical strife.
Pavilions as Battlegrounds
The physical spaces of the Biennale have become sites of direct action. On Thursday, the art collective Pussy Riot staged a high-visibility disruption at the Russian pavilion. Clad in their signature bright pink balaclavas, activists stormed the pavilion with smoke flares, chanting “No Putin in Venice.” The protest marked a volatile return for Russia, which had been absent from the festival since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The conflict surrounding Gaza has also left a tangible mark on the event’s geography. On Friday, thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Venice to protest Israel’s presence. The disruption was so widespread that several pavilions—including those of the United Kingdom, Finland, and Japan—shuttered for several hours as curators and artists joined the march. While the Israeli pavilion was closed Friday morning, officials noted the closure was due to a private event rather than the protests.
Beyond the street protests, internal diplomatic battles have left some spaces hauntingly vacant:
- South Africa: The pavilion remains empty after artist Gabrielle Goliath refused a request from the country’s culture minister to remove tributes to a Palestinian poet killed in Gaza.
- Australia: Artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino were briefly dropped by the government arts advisory body following accusations of antisemitism from right-wing politicians, though they were later reinstated after intense pressure from the arts community.
The Call for a United States Ban
The scrutiny has not been limited to the primary combatants of current wars. An open letter signed by 74 artists and curators, reprinted on the platform e-flux, called for the Biennale to exclude the United States alongside Israel and Russia, citing the U.S. Government’s involvement in global conflicts and alleged war crimes.
Jessica Kreps, a partner at the New York-based Lehmann Maupin gallery, noted that the political temperature of this year’s event is noticeably higher than in her two decades of attendance. However, Kreps defended the American presence as a testament to the very values the Biennale should uphold.
“The Biennale should be a place for respectful dialogue,” Kreps told NPR. “In many ways, that freedom of expression and critique is inherently democratic and very much part of what being American is about.”
A Legacy of Political Turbulence
While the current chaos feels singular, the Venice Biennale has a long history of serving as a lightning rod for global unrest. The intersection of art and activism is baked into the institution’s timeline.
| Year | Event/Conflict | Outcome/Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Global Student Uprisings | Protesters occupied St. Mark’s Square; denounced Biennale as “bourgeois.” |
| 1974 | Chilean Military Coup | Director Carlo Ripa di Meana canceled all national pavilions to focus on democracy. |
| 2022 | Invasion of Ukraine | Russian curators resigned; pavilion remained padlocked and guarded by police. |
| 2026 | Gaza/Ukraine Conflicts | Total jury resignation; transition to anonymous public voting. |
The current crisis represents a shift from the 1974 model of centralized ideological direction toward a more fragmented, bottom-up form of protest where the artists and the public, rather than the director, are attempting to dictate the moral boundaries of the event.
As the festival continues, all eyes remain on the anonymous voting process and the potential for further pavilion withdrawals. The final award recipients, determined by the ticket-holding public, are scheduled to be announced on November 22, the Biennale’s closing day.
Join the conversation: Should international art festivals remain neutral spaces, or is it their responsibility to exclude nations engaged in conflict? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
