South Africa pulls out of Venice Biennale after Minister McKenzie overrules curators

South Africa has withdrawn its official participation from the 61st Venice Biennale, just days before artists were due to confirm their involvement, triggering a backlash from cultural workers.

The decision followed the intervention of Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, who overruled an independent curatorial panel’s unanimous selection of a work by artist Gabriel Goliath.

Curators’ choice overturned

Goliath’s long-running performance work Energy addresses gender-based violence, femicide and collective mourning. Its latest iteration also referenced the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza, including a poet killed during the conflict.

According to artists and cultural workers, the work was withdrawn after McKenzie raised concerns linked to its political content, despite South Africa’s stated position on the conflict and its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

McKenzie has denied censoring the artwork, instead citing vague concerns about foreign funding, geopolitical influence and the need for the national pavilion to ‘promote South Africa’.

‘A failure of mandate’

Speaking on CapeTalk, author and cultural worker CA Davids said the move went far beyond a single artwork.

“The sector built these institutions,” Davids said. “When a minister acts unilaterally and ignores professionals in the field, he is not fulfilling his mandate to the people he is meant to represent.”

Davids argued that contemporary art is, by nature, critical and often challenges power, including governments and funders, and that the curatorial panel consisted of respected local and international experts whose judgment should have been respected.

Accusations of censorship

Artists have also drawn links between McKenzie’s personal political views and the decision to withdraw the work. Before becoming a minister, McKenzie publicly expressed support for Israel, a position aligned with his party, the Patriotic Alliance.

Critics say this stands in contrast to the South African government’s official stance on Gaza and raises constitutional concerns around freedom of expression.

“This is not just about policy,” Davids said. “It’s about freedom of speech and artistic freedom. What we are seeing is a form of censorship.”

Call for presidential intervention

More than 920 artists and cultural workers have signed a letter calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene, warning that the decision damages South Africa’s global cultural standing and undermines trust in independent artistic processes.

Davids also criticised the minister’s broader approach to the arts sector, citing the withdrawal of funding from the National Arts Festival in Makhanda as an example of what she described as harmful decision-making.

“Instead of enabling the sector, he appears to be actively harming it,” she said.

The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture has yet to announce whether South Africa will return to the Venice Biennale under a different curatorial process.

For more information, listen to Davids using the audio player below: