ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Gabrielle Goliath's Elegy Opens Independently in Venice After State Censorship

exhibition · 2026-03-25

South African artist Gabrielle Goliath's performance work Elegy, selected to represent South Africa at the 61st Venice Biennale, was canceled by Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture Gayton McKenzie after she refused to remove a section honoring Palestinian poet Heba Abunada, killed by an Israeli airstrike in October 2023. McKenzie, a Christian Zionist and president of the Patriotic Alliance, demanded the removal citing the work's polarizing nature. Goliath's gallery, Goodman Gallery, terminated representation citing financial reasons. Despite a court challenge dismissed by Judge Mamoloko Kubushi on February 18, 2026, Elegy opened independently on May 5 at Chiesa di Sant'Antonin in Venice, supported by the Bertha Foundation, Ibraaz, the David Goldblatt family trust, and artist Khaled Sabsabi. The work, first performed in 2015, features opera singers sustaining a single B-natural note as a lament for women and LGBTQIA+ individuals lost to gendered and sexual violence. The Venice iteration comprises three suites: honoring Ipeleng Christine Moholane (a 19-year-old murdered in Tembisa), two unnamed Nama women killed in the Ovaherero and Nama genocide, and Heba Abunada. Goliath's legal team, including Adila Hassim, plans to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

Key facts

  • Gabrielle Goliath's Elegy was selected for the South African Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale.
  • Minister Gayton McKenzie canceled the work after Goliath refused to remove a tribute to Heba Abunada.
  • Goodman Gallery terminated representation of Goliath in December 2025, citing financial reasons.
  • Elegy opened independently at Chiesa di Sant'Antonin in Venice on May 5, 2026.
  • The work features opera singers sustaining a single B-natural note as a lament.
  • The Venice iteration includes three suites: for Ipeleng Christine Moholane, two Nama ancestors, and Heba Abunada.
  • Goliath's court application was dismissed by Judge Mamoloko Kubushi on February 18, 2026.
  • Supporters include Bertha Foundation, Ibraaz, David Goldblatt family trust, and Khaled Sabsabi.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Goodman Gallery
  • Art Periodic
  • Bertha Foundation
  • Ibraaz
  • Museum of Modern Art
  • MoMA PS1
  • Gauteng High Court
  • Constitutional Court of South Africa
  • International Court of Justice
  • African National Congress
  • Patriotic Alliance
  • Department of International Relations and Cooperation
  • Daily Maverick
  • Hyperallergic
  • Momus
  • ArtReview
  • Chiesa di Sant’Antonin
  • South African Pavilion
  • Patriarchate of Venice
  • Chiesa di Sant'Antonin
  • 61st Biennale Arte
  • South Africa's Culture Ministry
  • Patriot Alliance
  • The Hague
  • Saudi Pavilion
  • PinchukArtCentre
  • Pinault Collection
  • Venice Biennale
  • South African Department of Sports, Arts and Culture
  • High Court in Pretoria
  • South African Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture
  • South Africa Pavilion Selection Committee
  • Ynetnews
  • Qatar Museums
  • ArtAsiaPacific
  • South African High Court
  • South African Department of Culture
  • Church of Sant'Antonin
  • Galleria Raffaella Cortese
  • Made in Cloister Foundation
  • South African Ministry of Culture
  • South Africa Pavilion
  • ICA Milano

Locations

  • Venice
  • Italy
  • South Africa
  • Johannesburg
  • Pretoria
  • Gaza
  • Khan Yunis
  • Palestine
  • Namibia
  • Western Cape
  • Tembisa
  • Cape Town
  • Braamfontein
  • Rosebank
  • New York
  • Chiesa di Sant'Antonin
  • Castello
  • Arsenale
  • Sale d'Armi
  • Homecoming Centre
  • District Six
  • São Paulo
  • Paris
  • Basel
  • Amsterdam
  • Lebanon
  • Yemen
  • Iran
  • Haiti
  • Sudan
  • United States
  • Australia
  • Germany
  • Myanmar
  • Ukraine
  • Timor-Leste
  • Serbia
  • Russia
  • London
  • Qatar
  • Castello district
  • Milan
  • Naples
  • Kimberley
  • United Kingdom

Sources

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