The international jury of the Venice Biennale resigned. This is related to Russia's admission to it
On April 22, the jury of the Venice Biennale announced that it did not intend to consider countries whose leaders the International Criminal Court intends to arrest as candidates for awards. Today, it became known that the entire jury resigned 9 days before the event's opening.
The announcement regarding the refusal to consider candidates for awards did not mention specific states subject to the decision. However, among the Biennale participants in 2026, International Criminal Court arrest warrants were issued only against the leaders of Russia and Israel, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu.
On April 30, it was announced that the Biennale jury was resigning.
“The Venice Biennale announces that at this moment, resignation letters have been received from the International Jury of the 61st International Art Exhibition 'In Minor Keys' by Koyo Kouoh (May 9 — November 22, 2026),” the exhibition’s website stated.
The jury included curator and founder of Videobrasil Solange Oliveira Farkas (chairperson), Southeast Asian contemporary art curator Zai Bhat, director of the MACBA Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona Elvira Dyangani Ose, rector of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Marta Kuzma, and art historian and curator Giovanna Zapperi.
The reasons for the jury's decision to resign have not yet been officially announced. Earlier, the newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the Italian Ministry of Culture would send inspectors to the Venice Biennale Foundation. The inspection will cover the organization's financial reporting, as well as documentation related to the pavilions of Russia, Iran, and Israel.
Following the jury's resignation, the Venice Biennale announced that the award ceremony, which was supposed to take place on the opening day of May 9, will now be held on November 22, when the exhibition closes.
Russia did not participate in the Biennale in 2022 and 2024 due to imposed sanctions, but in 2026, the Russian pavilion in Venice is set to reopen.
Ukraine expressed protest regarding this, and the European Commission stated that Russia's participation in the exhibition violates the sanctions regime. For this, the Biennale was deprived of a grant of about two million euros.
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