Artist Gabrielle Goliath will appeal against a High Court decision by Arts Minister Guyton McKenzie to cancel her participation in the Venice Biennale with an artwork titled Elegy, which addresses femicide and genocide. His legal team is protesting the implications of the decision on artists' rights.
The Arsenale, which would have hosted the South African pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, will remain empty this year, but lawyers for artist Gabriel Goliath are challenging a High Court ruling that has disrupted his efforts to reinstate his participation after it was apparently canceled by Arts and Culture Minister Guyton McKenzie.
Goliath's lawyer, Dario Milo, confirmed to Daily Maverick that his team is working on an application for permission to appeal against Judge Mamoloko Kubushi's decision, which was handed down on 18 February, including due to his decision being made public on 22 February – after the Biennale deadline had passed, closing the door on an immediate appeal and Goliath's involvement at the last minute.
Kubushi's decision found that the dispute centered on a general private agreement between the two parties – the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and the Department of Art Periodicals, a non-profit established to run the selection and exhibition of artworks in Venice – and did not contractually involve Goliath and his team, which included curator Ingrid Masondo and studio manager James MacDonald.
An urgent application to stop McKenzie, leader of the Self-Affirmed Zionist and Patriotic Coalition…