More than 100 artists participating in the Venice Biennale have threatened legal action against the organizers for ignoring their repeated requests to be removed from the visitor-voted Visitors' Lions awards. In a statement posted on e-flux on 3 June, artists from the Biennale's In Minor Keys exhibition and various national pavilions expressed disappointment that the Biennale failed to act on their demands, calling the lack of responsiveness disrespectful and the voting process lacking transparency. The signatories, including Walid Raad, Laurie Anderson, and Pio Abad, said they would begin next steps toward legal action, following a 20 May letter demanding their names be removed and votes disqualified. The Biennale responded on 28 May, stating artists would remain listed to guarantee visitors' freedom of expression but that votes for signatories would not be counted.
The dispute matters because it highlights growing tensions between artists and institutional leadership over political and ethical issues in the art world. The conflict originated from the resignation of the Biennale's five-member jury on 30 April after controversy over the participation of Israel and Russia, with the jury having announced it would not consider artists from countries whose leaders face arrest warrants for crimes against humanity. The Biennale's decision to replace the jury with a public vote has been met with widespread artist resistance, escalating from nearly 70 artists initially withdrawing to 106 signatories. This case raises questions about institutional accountability, artist autonomy, and the role of public participation in major art events.