19 February: In the latest development in the row over South Africa’s presentation at the 2026 Venice Biennale, the country’s high court has rejected artist Gabrielle Goliath’s bid to reinstate her pavilion.
Goliath was to exhibit a work that references Israel’s war on Palestine from her series Elegy, with Ingrid Masondo as curator. The selection was then cancelled by South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie, who requested several changes to the work, which Goliath refused.
In Goliath’s bid to overturn the cancellation, the artist and Masondo said that the minister lacked the contractual authority and that the decision infringed her constitutional right to freedom of speech.
Following a hearing on 11 February, judge Mamokolo Kubushi of the country’s North Gauteng High Court rejected the bid. Kubushi did not provide reasons for her ruling.
According to ArtNews, the ruling was made only hours before the exhibition’s submission deadline.
20 February: The South African culture ministry announced today that no artist will represent the nation at the Venice Biennale. Their pavilion will stand empty. South Africa, a key hub in the African artworld, has sent artists to every biennale since 2011.
Read more South African government pulls Gabrielle Goliath’s Venice Biennale pavilion
