The jury for the Venice Biennale – the world's biggest art exhibition – have announced that Israel will not be considered for the top prizes at this year’s event.
In a statement released on Thursday, the jury announced that countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court would not be considered for the Golden and Silver Lion – a move they said was part of their commitment to “the defence of human rights”.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2024, accusing him of murder, persecution and using starvation as a weapon of war during Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Venice Biennale jury is made up of five international jurors. Chaired by Brazilian curator Solange Oliveira Farkas, it also includes the artistic director of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Elvira Dyangani Ose.
Earlier this year, nearly 200 Venice Biennale participants signed an open letter coordianted by The Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA), demanding that Israel be excluded from this year’s exhibition.
The letter – whose signatories included Lubaina Himid, who will represent Britain at this year’s show – stated: “We, the undersigned, stand together as artists, curators and art workers in a collective refusal to allow you to platform the Israeli state as it commits genocide.”
Belu-Simion Fainaru, a Romanian-born sculptor, will be representing Israel at this year’s exhibition. Reacting to the boycott letter, he told The Art Newspaper: “As an artist, I am opposed to cultural boycotts as I believe in the importance of dialogue and exchange, especially in difficult times.
“My participation is a commitment to art as a safe space for open reflection. I hope that visitors will engage with my work on its own terms. Art should remain a space for dialogue, dissent, and complexity.”
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