{"id":716386,"date":"2026-06-05T08:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T08:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/716386\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T08:23:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T08:23:12","slug":"two-canadian-artists-add-names-to-venice-biennale-letter-protesting-inclusion-in-awards-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/716386\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Canadian artists add names to Venice Biennale letter protesting inclusion in awards ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Demonstrators attend a protest at Venice Biennale’s International Art Exhibition, on May 7.Manuel Silvestri\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Two Canadian artists showing at the Venice Biennale have added their names to an open letter asking not to be included in consideration for a people\u2019s choice award.<\/p>\n

When the Biennale\u2019s jury resigned to protest Russia and Israel\u2019s participation in the international art event, the festival\u2019s administration replaced its prestigious Golden and Silver lions with awards voted on by visitors. But in a letter dated May 20, more than 100 artists requested their names be removed from consideration for this new venture. <\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the group escalated the dispute, publishing the letter online and threatening legal action because, so far, the Biennale has not taken the names off the ballot.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Bonnie Devine.Erinn Brush\/Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision to put a viewers\u2019 choice ballot system in place following the official jury\u2019s resignation appears to be an attempt to deflect attention from the grave issue the jury articulated,\u201d Toronto artist Bonnie Devine said in an e-mail. \u201cI do not wish to participate in this apparent cover up and erasure of the jury\u2019s bold act of dissent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the Biennale opened in May, the jury announced it would not consider countries that had been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court, an apparent reference to the participation of Israel and Russia, both of which have national pavilions on the Biennale\u2019s historic grounds in the Giardini. <\/p>\n

The jury announced its resignation on the same day the Biennale introduced the people\u2019s choice concept for the juried awards, which recognize the best national pavilion and the best artist in the main exhibition. <\/p>\n

In response to a request for comment, the Biennale provided a copy of its May 28 e-mail to the artists stating they would not be considered for prizes but their names would not be removed from the ballot, in order to preserve visitors \u201cfreedom of expression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meet the Canadian artists heading to Venice Biennale<\/a><\/p>\n

So far 70 individual artists from the main exhibition, plus groups representing 39 national pavilions, have asked to have their names removed from consideration. There are 110 individual artists and groups in the main exhibition this year, and 96 national pavilions. <\/p>\n

The other Canadian artist whose name appears on the list, which was published on the visual arts community website e-flux, is Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both Devine and Hatanaka are included in the main exhibition, entitled In Minor Keys, as are Montreal artist Manuel Mathieu and the duo of Calgary artist Marigold Santos and Toronto artist Rajni Perera whose names do not appear on the open letter. <\/p>\n

The other Canadian whose name does not appear on the list is Abbas Akhavan, featured at the Canada Pavilion. The seventh Canadian showing at the Biennale is Lotus L. Kang, featured in the pavilion hosted by corporate sponsor Bulgari, which is not in official competition and so ineligible for the awards.<\/p>\n

Analysis: At the Venice Biennale, a clash of politics and art exposes the need for a rethink<\/a><\/p>\n

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 it was excluded from that year\u2019s Biennale; in 2024 it lent its pavilion to Bolivia. This year, it programmed its pavilion, but the building was allowed to open only during the preview week that attracts critics and the trade. <\/p>\n

In 2024, Israeli artist Ruth Patir declined to open her exhibition until there was a ceasefire in Gaza and Hamas returned the Israeli hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023. This year, with the main Israeli pavilion in the Giardini undergoing renovations, artist Belu-Simion Fainaru mounted a show in a temporary Israeli pavilion at the Biennale\u2019s secondary site, the Arsenale. Protestors organized demonstrations outside both pavilions during the preview week.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: An earlier version of this story failed to note that artist Lotus L. Kang at the Bulgari pavilion is not part of the official competition eligible for the Biennale’s awards. This version has been updated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Demonstrators attend a protest at Venice Biennale’s International Art Exhibition, on May 7.Manuel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75,1008],"class_list":["post-716386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-pleasemod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}