Inés Fontenla withdraws from Bolivia Pavilion at Venice Biennale over political interference

Argentine artist Inés Fontenla has withdrawn from the Bolivia Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, citing political and economic interference that altered the original curatorial concept. Fontenla was invited by curator Paola Pisanelli Nero to participate in a group exhibition titled "Abya Yala" (an indigenous term meaning "Great Homeland"), hosted in the Russia Pavilion space. Her installation "Requiem Terra," inspired by environmental issues and the Earth Charter, was selected. However, after political changes in Bolivia on March 5, 2024, when several ministers were dismissed, the newly appointed Minister of Culture, Decolonization and Depatriarchalization, Esperanza Guevara, replaced Pisanelli as curator. Guevara overhauled the project just one month before the Biennale's opening, despite it having been approved and announced in the Biennale's press release. Artists were given the option to continue under the new conditions. Fontenla, unwilling to be manipulated by political and economic interests, decided to withdraw even though her work was already packed for shipment. She emphasizes the importance of remaining true to oneself and to the Earth Charter, ratified by UNESCO in 2000, which calls for a new reverence for life and commitment to sustainability, justice, and peace.