On June 3, a May 20 letter signed by more than 100 artists participating in the 61st Venice Biennale was published, addressed to the Venice Biennale Foundation and its president, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, reiterating their repeated requests to be removed from the new Visitors’ Lions ballot.

The statement is signed by 63 artists and collectives from “In Minor Keys”—the central exhibition conceived by the late curator Koyo Kouoh—as well as participants and organizers of 39 national pavilions. It follows a sequence of disputes over state participation and official prizes. On April 23, the Biennale’s five-member international jury stated it would exclude countries from award consideration whose leaders were under International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants, effectively barring Israel and Russia. On April 30, the jury resigned, prompting the Biennale Foundation to confer voting to the public, which reopened eligibility to Israel and Russia.  

Standing in solidarity with the departed jury, dozens of artists signed a statement published on e-flux on May 9, the Biennale’s first public day, declaring their withdrawal from consideration for the newly instituted Visitors’ Lions awards. 

On May 14, when ticketed visitors received the Visitors’ Lions ballots, signatories found their names still listed. This prompted their May 20 letter to the foundation, now published on e-flux, condemning the Biennale’s lack of “transparency and accountability” and criticizing its attempt to deflect attention from the jury’s resignation. The signatories demanded that their names be removed from the ballots, all communication materials, and any context associated with the Visitors’ Lions, and that any votes already cast for them be disqualified. 

Although the signatories said they had received neither response nor acknowledgement, the Biennale Foundation told Hyperallergic that it had replied on May 28 via email, stating that the ballot would keep all artists’ names to “guarantee all visitors their freedom of expression,” but the votes “will not be considered for the awards, nor will they be published.” 

As of June 3, the artists claim that they have yet to receive a response from the foundation and have begun what they describe as “next steps toward legal action.”