More than 100 artists threaten legal action against Venice Biennale

More than 100 artists at the Venice Biennale—106 signatories as of a 3 June 2026 statement posted on e-flux—threatened to pursue legal action after organizers refused to remove them from the visitor-voted “Visitors’ Lions” awards. Signatories from the “In Minor Keys” exhibition and national pavilions include Walid Raad, Laurie Anderson, and Pio Abad; the group reproduced a 20 May letter demanding their names be removed and votes for them disqualified. The Biennale told The Art Newspaper it replied on 28 May, saying artists would remain listed to protect visitors’ “freedom of expression,” but votes for those requesting withdrawal would not be counted; the Biennale added it had received no response to that letter. The dispute follows the jury’s resignation on 30 April 2026 after controversy over Israel and Russia, and the Biennale’s subsequent decision to award two Golden Lions by public vote beginning on 9 May, when nearly 70 artists initially announced their withdrawal.

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