The Venice Biennale jury resigned, according to the International Art Fair’s website on April 30. All five members of the jury, led by its president, Solange Farkas, resigned. The reasons for this decision were not reported.
This news comes less than a week after the jury announced that, in order to protect human rights, it would not consider the actions of countries whose leaders were accused by the International Criminal Court of committing crimes against humanity. Only Russia and Israel fall under this definition.
After this decision, the Israeli sculptor Bello Simone Fainaro accused the jury members of racial discrimination, and threatened to sue them.
The biennale organizers did not criticize the jury over the decision, saying they acted independently. At the same time, organizers said that for the first time, they will allow visitors to choose their favorite artists from among all the representatives at the biennale, including representatives from Russia and Israel. In addition, it was decided to move the awards ceremony from May to November. He writes Reuters.
The jury resigned nine days before the opening of the Venice Biennale, scheduled for May 9.
Organizers of the Venice Biennale faced severe criticism from Italian authorities and the European Commission after they announced in March that Russia would return to the fair for the first time since Russia’s large-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022.