An open letter published on 3 June, signed by over 100 artists and teams participating in the 61st Venice Biennale, announced that they will ‘begin next steps towards legal action’ against the Venice Biennale Foundation for repeatedly disregarding their requests to be withdrawn from the ‘Visitors’ Lions’ Awards.
The open letter notes that as early as 9 May, the first public day of the Biennale, 52 artists with work in the central In Minor Keys exhibition and 16 artists from National Pavilions (as of 3 June, 67 and 39 respectively) wrote to the Biennale and publicly announced their withdrawal from the Visitors’ Lions Awards, in solidarity with the International Jury, who resigned on 30 April over the Biennale’s refusal to exclude ‘countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court’.
A second letter was sent to the Biennale on 20 May after the Biennale ignored their request. The letters received ‘neither a reply nor an acknowledgement of receipt’.
As of today the Visitors’ Lions ballots still include names of artists who have openly rejected being considered for the awards.
‘We view this lack of responsiveness as not only highly disrespectful of the undersigned participants in the Biennale, but also of the audience,’ the open letter writes. ‘It is unfair to ask the public to participate in a process that has lacked transparency and accountability, and it is a waste of their time to ask them to cast votes that cannot be counted.’
The signatories as of 3 June are:
In Minor Keys Artists:
Pio Abad, Fabric Aragno, arms ache avid aeon, Sammy Baloji, Éric Baudelaire, Sabian Baumann, Nancy Brooks Brody Estate, BuBu de la madeleine, Carolina Caycedo, Annalee Davis, Bonnie Devine, Nolan Oswald Dennis, rana elnemr, Joy Episalla, Rachel Fallon, Sofía Gallisá Muriente, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Sohrab Hura,
Mohammed Joha, fierce pussy, Alfredo Jaar, Michael Joo, Nina Katchadourian, Guadalupe Maravilla, Natalia Lassalle Morillo, Florence Lazar, Zoe Leonard, Alice Maher, lugar a dudas (Ericka Florez, Sahara Rosero, Marcela Muñoz,María del Mar Nuñez, Sally Mizrachi), Avi Mograbi & Avital Barak, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Otobong Nkanga, Hagar Ophir, Uriel Orlow, Thania Petersen, Alan Phelan, Walid Raad, Mohammed Z. Rahman, Tabita Rezaire, Guadalupe Rosales, Yo-E Ryou, Rose Salane, Carrie Schneider, Hala Schoukair, Berni Searle, Yoshiko Shimada, Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser, Cauleen Smith, Vera Tamari, Jo-ey Tang, Carrie Yamaoka, Raed Yassin, Laurie Anderson, Leonard Pongo, Theo Eshetu, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, Philip Aguirre, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Kamaal Malak, Denniston Hill, Kemang Wa Lehulere, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Eustáquio Neves.
National Pavilions:
Belgium: Miet Warlop (artist) & Caroline Dumalin (curator) & Team
Luxembourg: Aline Bouvy & Stilbé Schroeder
France: Yto Barrada
Slovenia: Nonument Group (Neja Tomšič, Martin Bricelj Baraga, Nika Grabar, Miloš Kosec)
Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez, curator
Latvia: MAREUNROL’S, Bruno Birmanis & Team
Lithuania: Egle Budvytyte (artist) and Louise O’Kelly (curator) & Team
Switzerland: Gianmaria Andreetta, Luca Beeler, Miriam Laura Leonardi, Lithic Alliance, Yul Tomatala, Nina Wakeford
Spain: Oriol Vilanova (artist), Carles Guerra (curator) & team
The Netherlands: Dries Verhoeven (artist) & Rieke Vos (curator)
Poland: Bogna Burska & Daniel Kotowski (artists); Ewa Chomicka & Jolanta Woszczenko (curators)
Portugal: Alexandre Estrela (artist) Ana Baliza (curator)
Ecuador: Tawna Collective (Sani Montahuano, Mukutsawa Montahuano, Lucia Ferre, Enoc Merino, Boloh Miranda & Tatiana Lopez)
Ireland: Isabel Nolan (artist) ; Georgina Jackson (curator); Cian O’Brien (producer)
Kosovo: Brilant Milazimi
Finland: Juha Huuskonen (commissioner), Jenna Sutela (artist), curator and team
Czech and Slovak Pavilion: Jakub Jansa, Selmeci Kocka Jusko (artists), Peter Sit (curator)
Cyprus: Marina Xenofontos
Albania: Genti Korini
United Arab Emirates: Farah Al Qasimi
Türkiye: Nilbar Güreş (artist), Başak Doğa Temür (curator)
Grenada: Susan Mains (commissioner) & artists
Iceland: Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir (artist); Cecilie Gaihede, Icelandic Art Center (commissioner)
Moldova: Pavel Brăila (artist), Adelina Luft (curator)
Estonia: Merike Estna (artist), Natalia Sielewicz (curator) & team
Ukraine: Zhanna Kadyrova (artist); Ksenia Malykh, Leonid Marushchak (curators) & Katia Khimei, Ivanna Kozachenko (curators of public programme)
Croatia: Dubravka Lošić (artist) Branko Franceschi (curator), Ministry of Culture and Media (commissioner)
Italy: Chiara Camoni & studio team
Austria: Florentina Holzinger (artist) & team
San Marino: Mark Francis
Nordic Countries: Benjamin Orlow, Klara Kristalova, Tori Wrånes (artists), Anna Mustonen (curator) & team
Denmark: Maja Malou Lyse, DIS, Chus Martínez, Commons Accounts
Britain: Lubaina Himid
Chile: Norton Maza
Bulgaria: Martina Yordanova (curator) and artists Veneta Androva, Gery Georgieva, Maria Nalbantova, Rayna Teneva & team
Philippines: Jon Cuyson (artist), Mara Gladstone (curator)
Romania: Anca Benera & Arnold Estefán (artists); Corina Oprea, Diana Marincu (curators) & team
Mexico: RojoNegro (Noé Martínez and María Sosa)
Malta: Raphael Vella, Charlie Cauchi, Adrian Abela (artists); Margerita Pulè (curator)
Aotearoa New Zealand: Fiona Pardington & team
