"Goliath and Masondo were selected to represent South Africa at the 2026 Venice Biennale on 6 December last year, by a five-person selection committee composed of imminent members of the country's art community. The pair were to present a new iteration of Elegy- Goliath's decade-long project that has centred on femicide and the murder of LGBTQI+ people in South Africa."
"On 22 December, McKenzie-the leader of the right-wing Patriotic Alliance party-wrote a letter to the organising committee in which he described the Abu Nada-related suite as "highly divisive in nature" and said it "relates to an ongoing international conflict that is widely polarising". McKenzie then cancelled Goliath's plans on 2 January, just eight days before the first deadline for countries to"
Gabrielle Goliath, studio manager James Macdonald and curator Ingrid Masondo are launching urgent legal action against sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie. A legal team led by Adila Hassim will file an application at the high court in Pretoria seeking a declaration that McKenzie's interference is unconstitutional and a reversal of his decision terminating Goliath's participation in the Venice Biennale. The team insists the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture respond to the lawful selection decision of the Independent Curatorial Selection Committee and ensure the exhibition proceeds. The Venice project was a new iteration of Elegy addressing femicide, anti-LGBTQI+ violence, the Ovaherero and Nama genocide, and the death of Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada. McKenzie described the Abu Nada-related suite as "highly divisive" and cancelled the plans on 2 January.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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