81 Artists Withdraw from Venice Biennale Prize Competition
On the opening day of the 61st Venice Biennale, 81 artists and participants from 16 national pavilions withdrew from consideration for the newly introduced 'Visitor Lion' awards. The mass withdrawal is in solidarity with the international jury that resigned on 30 April after being selected by curator Koyo Kouoh. The Biennale organisers replaced the traditional Golden and Silver Lions with a public vote system. The edition, titled 'In Minor Keys' and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, has faced protests over the inclusion of Russia and Israel. Withdrawing artists from the Central Pavilion include Pio Abad, Sammy Baloji, Éric Baudelaire, Carolina Caycedo, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Sohrab Hura, Alfredo Jaar, Zoe Leonard, Otobong Nkanga, Walid Raad, Tabita Rezaire, and Cauleen Smith, among others. National pavilion participants withdrawing include Miet Warlop (Belgium), Yto Barrada (France), and Dries Verhoeven (Netherlands). The statement was published on e-flux.
Key facts
- 81 artists withdrew from the 61st Venice Biennale prize competition.
- Withdrawal is in solidarity with the resigned international jury.
- The jury resigned on 30 April after being selected by Koyo Kouoh.
- Biennale organisers introduced a 'Visitor Lion' award system with public vote.
- The Biennale is titled 'In Minor Keys' and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh.
- Protests occurred during preview week over inclusion of Russia and Israel.
- Withdrawing artists include Pio Abad, Sammy Baloji, Éric Baudelaire, and others.
- 16 national pavilions are involved in the withdrawal.
Entities
Artists
- Pio Abad
- Fabric Aragno
- arms ache avid aeon
- Sammy Baloji
- Éric Baudelaire
- Sabian Baumann
- Nancy Brooks Brody Estate
- BuBu de la madeleine
- Carolina Caycedo
- Annalee Davis
- Bonnie Devine
- Nolan Oswald Dennis
- rana elnemr
- Joy Episalla
- Rachel Fallon
- Sofía Gallisá Muriente
- Joana Hadjithomas
- Khalil Joreige
- Sohrab Hura
- Mohammed Joha
- fierce pussy
- Alfredo Jaar
- Michael Joo
- Nina Katchadourian
- Guadalupe Maravilla
- Natalia Lassalle Morillo
- Florence Lazar
- Zoe Leonard
- Alice Maher
- Sally Mizrachi
- Avi Mograbi
- Avital Barak
- Tuan Andrew Nguyen
- Otobong Nkanga
- Hagar Ophir
- Uriel Orlow
- Alan Phelan
- Walid Raad
- Mohammed Z. Rahman
- Tabita Rezaire
- Guadalupe Rosales
- Yo-E Ryou
- Rose Salane
- Carrie Schneider
- Hala Schoukair
- Berni Searle
- Yoshiko Shimada
- Himali Singh Soin
- David Soin Tappeser
- Cauleen Smith
- Vera Tamari
- Jo-ey Tang
- Carrie Yamaoka
- Raed Yassin
- Thania Petersen
- Miet Warlop
- Caroline Dumalin
- Aline Bouvy
- Stilbé Schroeder
- Yto Barrada
- Neja Tomšič
- Martin Bricelj Baraga
- Nika Grabar
- Miloš Kosec
- Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez
- MAREUNROL’S
- Bruno Birmanis
- Egle Budvytyte
- Louise O’Kelly
- Gianmaria Andreetta
- Luca Beeler
- Miriam Laura Leonardi
- Lithic Alliance
- Yul Tomatala
- Nina Wakeford
- Oriol Vilanova
- Dries Verhoeven
- Rieke Vos
- Bogna Burska
- Daniel Kotowski
- Ewa Chomicka
- Jolanta Woszczenko
- Boloh Miranda
- Tatiana Lopez
- Sani Montahuano
- Mukutsawa Montahuano
- Enoc Merino
- Tawna Collective
- Isabel Nolan
- Georgina Jackson
- Cian O’Brien
- Brilant Milazimi
- Juha Huuskonen
- Jakub Jansa
- Selmeci Kocka Jusko
- Peter Sit
- Marina Xenofontos
- Burska
- Kotowski
Institutions
- Venice Biennale
- La Biennale di Venezia
- e-flux
- ArtReview
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- France
- Spain
- Cyprus
- Ecuador
- Belgium
- Luxembourg
- Slovenia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Ireland
- Kosovo
- Finland
- Czech Republic
- Slovakia
- Russia
- Israel