The jurors for the Golden and Silver Lion awards at the Venice Biennale say they will not consider the pavilions of any country whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
This would include Russia, where Vladimir Putin is charged with the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children, and Israel, where Benjamin Netanyahu is charged with the targeting of Palestinian civilians and using starvation as a weapon of war.
The return of Russia to the exhibition, absent since 2022, and the continuing presence of Israel, has caused considerable opposition.
The jury is presided over by Solange Oliveira Farkas, the founder and artistic director of Associao Cultural Videobrasil, and features Zoe Butt, curator and founder of in-tangible institute and artistic director of deCentral, both in Chiang Mai; Elvira Dyangani Ose, curator and artistic director of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial; Marta Kuzma, curator and professor at the Yale School of Art; and Giovanna Zapperi, art historian, and professor at the University of Geneva.
Together they will choose the recipient of the best National Participation; as well as the Golden and Silver Lions for best participant in In Minor Keys, the the general exhibition curated by the late Koyo Kouoh.
The jury’s statement in full:
‘We, the members of the international jury for In Minor Keys, the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, are honoured to have been selected for this role by Koyo Kouoh, the artistic director. We are committed to contribute to her project by designating the artists for the Golden and Silver Lion, among the one hundred and ten artists Kouoh selected to be part of the exhibition. By doing so, we recognize the work of her curatorial team which includes Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira, Rasha Salti, Siddhartha Mitter, and Rory Tsapayi.
‘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. We acknowledge the complex relationship between artist 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. On 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 the consideration of those countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
‘In this, we stand in solidarity to embrace Koyo Kouoh’s own curatorial statement: In refusing the spectacle of horror, the time has come to listen to the minor keys, to tune in sotto voce to the whispers, to the lower frequencies; to find the oases, the islands, where the dignity of all living beings is safeguarded.’
