Iran withdraws from Venice Biennale
Iran has withdrawn from the upcoming 61st edition of the Venice Biennale.
Confirmation was made by the organisers of the prestigious art festival in a statement published on their website on May 4th.
They shared, “With regard to the National Participations in the 61st International Art Exhibition, In Minor Keys by Koyo Kouoh (9 May-22 November), it has been announced that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not participate.”
No specific reason was given for Iran’s reasoning for pulling out of participating in the Biennale, but the decision comes amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
A source told The Art Newspaper that the current war made it unviable for Iran to compete in Venice, sharing, “Even the logistics of getting any artworks to Venice would have been extremely complicated with the current situation. There are no flights, no postage.”
Prior to officially withdrawing from the Biennale, Iran had yet to even announce an artist that was set to compete on the country’s behalf.
The 61st International Art Exhibition in Venice is still set to run from May 9th to November 22nd and will see almost 100 countries from across the globe have a pavilion at the Italian event.
However, global politics has overshadowed the event so far. Last week, the international jury resigned en masse over the inclusion of Russia in the 2026 art festival.
This decision to allow Russia to compete also caused the European Union to cut funding to the Venice Biennale.
