The 61st Venice Biennale, one of the most celebrated events on the global art calendar, opened Saturday under the shadow of an unprecedented crisis. All five members of the international jury resigned after refusing to award prizes to Israel and Russia, dozens of artists withdrew from the competition, and some 2,000 protesters clashed with police […]

The post Jury quits, protests erupt as Venice…

Belu-Simion Fainaru, the artist representing Israel at this year’s Venice Biennale, is said to have pressured Biennale officials ahead of the mass resignation of the event’s prize jury. According to reports first published last week by Italian news agency Adkronos, Fainaru accused the Biennale of “racial discrimination” and “antisemitism” and threatened to file suit in […]

Belu-Simion Fainaru, the artist set to represent Israel at the Sixty-First Venice Biennale, has issued a reply to the participating artists and curators demanding the country’s exclusion over its sustained bombing of Gaza. “As an artist, I do not support cultural boycotts,” Fainaru told Artnews in a statement. “I believe in dialogue and exchange, especially in challenging […]

Dozens of artists in the exhibition called for the removal of Israel's pavilion.