The jury for the 2026 Venice Biennale, which awards the exhibition’s top prizes, announced Thursday that it had resigned.
The news was posted to the Instagram account of journal e-flux, providing no reasoning for the decision. The statement, in full, reads: “As of 30 April 2026, we, the international jury selected by Koyo Kouoh, Artistic Director of the 61st edition of La Biennale di Venezia In Minor Keys, have resigned. We do so in acknowledgment of our Statement of Intention issued on 22 April 2026.”
The statement was signed by the five members: Solange Oliveira Farks (president), Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi. The jury was announced on by the Biennale on April 22, with a release saying that because of Kouoh’s unexpected death in May 2025, the four-person board of the Biennale had selected the jury.
Shortly after they were announced, the jury issued a lengthy statement, published by e-flux on April 23, in which they said they would not consider national pavilions by any countries who currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. That decision would directly impact the participation of Israel and Russia, whose inclusion had already drawn sharp criticism.
The news comes as much of the international art world is getting ready to descend on La Serenissima this weekend, as the professional preview days start on Tuesday, May 5. It is unclear if the jury was asked to resign by the Biennale.
In a statement sent to ARTnews after the publication of this article, the Biennale said that the ceremony to award the Golden Lions, originally scheduled ahead of the exhibition’s public opening on May 9 will now be pushed back to November 22, the final day of the Biennale. In its statement, the Biennale cited both the jury’s resignation and “the exceptional nature of the current international geopolitical situation.”
Additionally, the 2026 Biennale will not award Golden Lions, instead the public will vote on two “Visitors’ Lions,” in their place for “the Best Participant in the 61st Exhibition In Minor Keys by Koyo Kouoh” and “the Best National Participation in the 61st Exhibition,” which are the two categories normally awarded by the Biennale jury.
Any ticket holder to the Biennale who visits both of the Biennale’s main venues, the Arsenale and the Giardini, is eligible to submit a vote for the Visitors’ Lions; visits to both venues will be “verified through the ticketing system’s tracking,” per a release.
In reference to the jury’s statement that Israel and Russia would not be considered, the Biennale’s statement reads, “All National Participations included in the 61st Exhibition, as per the official list, are eligible for the Visitors’ Lion for the Best National Participation, following the principle of inclusion and equal treatment among all participants. This is consistent with the founding spirit of La Biennale, based on openness, dialogue, and the rejection of any form of closure or censorship. La Biennale seeks to be—and must remain—a place of truce in the name of art, culture, and artistic freedom.”
In the April 23 statement, the jurors said that they have “a responsibility towards the historical role of the Biennale as a platform that connects art to the urgencies of its time.” In doing so, they set out “our intention—to express our commitment to the defense of human rights and to the spirit of Koyo Kouoh’s curatorial project.”
The jury’s statement itself was met with criticism. On X, Israel’s foreign ministry called the decision “a contamination of the art world” that has turned this edition of the Biennale “into a spectacle of false, anti-Israeli political indoctrination.”
In his own statement, Belu-Simion Fainaru, the artist representing Israel, said that the jury’s statement “creates a hostile and degrading environment” and has “exceeded its mandate,” putting Israel in an “unequal position.”
The Biennale’s organizers have sought to maintain the jury’s independence, saying in a statement, “With regard to the statement issued today by the Jurors, this is a position that the members have chosen to anticipate and make public. It represents a natural expression of the freedom and autonomy which La Biennale guarantees.”
Update, April 30, 2026, 1:10 p.m.: This article has been updated to include a statement from the Venice Biennale and its decision to awards Visitors’ Lions.
