The Venice Biennale jury said it will not consider participants from countries whose leaders are accused by the International Criminal Court of crimes as contenders for the exhibition’s prizes, Reuters reported.
No specific countries were listed in the jury statement. The statement said, “The jury will abstain from considering the actions of states whose leaders are currently accused by the International Criminal Court of committing crimes against humanity.” The jury members added that they felt obligated to “protect human rights.”
Reuters concludes that we are talking about Russia and Israel, as the International Criminal Court previously issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Russia and Israel have not yet commented on the jury’s decision.
The 2026 Venice Biennale will take place from May 9 to November 22. Russia has not participated in the Biennale since the full invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has not used its pavilion in Venice, only renting it. However, this year Russia plans to present a series of acoustic performances at the Biennale under the general theme “The Tree Rooted in the Sky.” The Italian Ministry of Culture claimed that the Biennale Foundation had allowed Russia to return to the forum – without the country’s knowledge.
The European Commission condemned the decision to return Russia to the Biennale. She sent a letter to the organizers of the Biennale in which she promised to deprive the event of a European grant of two million euros.