About a week after the Venice Biennale jury sparked an uproar by saying it would not consider countries whose leaders face current International Criminal Court allegations of crimes against humanity, the jurors announced their resignation.
The announcement was published Thursday, just nine days before the opening of the event, considered one of the world’s most important art showcases.
In a brief statement published in the art journal eFlux, the five jurors said that as of April 30, 2026, they were resigning from the international jury selected by Koyo Kouoh, artistic director of the 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys," following their April 22 statement of intent.
The statement referred to reports that Israel and Russia were not expected to be considered this year for the Biennale’s main awards, although both countries remain official participants in the international exhibition and are expected to present pavilions. The jury’s original and current statements did not name the countries, but the reference was understood to include Israel, as the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on suspicion of war crimes over Israel’s actions in Gaza. The same applies to Russia, as an arrest warrant has also been issued for President Vladimir Putin over war crimes in Ukraine.
The jury is headed by Brazilian curator Solange Oliveira Farkas. Its other members are Elvira Dyangani Ose, artistic director of the Abu Dhabi Public Art Biennial, as well as Zoe Butt, Marta Kuzma and Giovanna Zapperi.
It was also reported that Belu-Simion Fainaru, the sculptor representing Israel this year, consulted lawyers following the jury’s decision. According to a news release, Italy’s culture minister called him Wednesday to express support. Fainaru was born in Romania and immigrated to Israel in the 1970s. He also represented Romania at the Venice Biennale in 2019. He is considered one of Israel’s leading artists and last year received the Israel Prize.
“The Venice Biennale jury’s decision is not only an injustice, but moral blindness,” Culture Minister Miki Zohar said earlier this week. “The boycott of artist Belu-Simion Fainaru, who was selected by a professional committee, is a slap in the face to Israeli artists. The jurors chose to shut him out through a divisive political boycott. The Culture and Sports Ministry stands with the artist and rejects any attempt at political labeling of culture, whose role is to build bridges between peoples. We call on the Biennale management and the Italian Culture Ministry to stop the world’s most important art event from becoming a display of exclusion and censorship.”
After the resignation announcement, Zohar added: “We will not allow antisemitism to raise its head under the guise of art. The struggle we waged proves that the people of Israel do not surrender to dictates of hatred or attempts at silencing. Our victory in dismantling the biased jury is a clear message to the world: Truth and Israeli culture are stronger than any boycott. I am proud that the public will now be the judge, because I believe in the power of our art to overcome darkness.”