Venice Biennale 2026: South Africa Faces a “Empty Pavilion” Risk After Cancellation of Gabrielle Goliath’s Project

VENICE / JOHANNESBURG – As the technical deadline for submitting national pavilion proposals to the Venice Biennale 2026 approaches, South Africa finds itself at the center of a controversy that blends contemporary art, politics, and geopolitics.South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has halted Elegy, the project selected to represent the country at the Biennale Arte 2026, prompting artist Gabrielle Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo to issue a direct appeal to President Cyril Ramaphosa for urgent intervention.

What Is a National Pavilion – and Why It Matters

For those less familiar with the contemporary art world, national pavilions at the Venice Biennale function as cultural ambassadors. Each pavilion represents a country on an international stage, conveying not only artistic research but also broader cultural and symbolic narratives.As a result, decisions about who represents a nation and what is shown often carry political weight far beyond the art itself.

The Project: “Elegy” and the Politics of Mourning

Elegy was conceived as a three-part video and sound installation, part of Goliath’s long-term research into public mourning, memory, witnessing, and violence.According to multiple reports, one section of the work referenced the war in Gaza and the death of Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada. This element is widely understood to be the trigger for the ministerial intervention that led to the project’s cancellation.

The Flashpoint: A Last-Minute Ministerial Stop

What makes the situation particularly volatile is not only the content of the artwork, but the timing and procedure. The decision reportedly came just days before the deadline—cited by several sources as 10 January—for submitting the official pavilion dossier.At the same time, the Ministry terminated its relationship with Art Periodic, the non-profit organization appointed to produce the pavilion under a newly announced collaborative model.

The Ministry’s Position: “No Funding Was Withdrawn”

In an official statement, South Africa’s Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) rejected claims of defunding the pavilion. The Department stated that its commitment covered the pavilion space (already paid for) and argued that the decision was based on safeguarding the integrity of national representation.

The Art World Responds: “Political Interference”

The reaction from artists, curators, and cultural commentators has been swift and critical. Many describe the move as political interference in a selection process reportedly carried out by an independent committee that had unanimously chosen Elegy.Critics warn of a dangerous precedent: if a ministry can demand substantive changes to an artwork—and cancel it when the artist refuses—the autonomy of national pavilions becomes fundamentally compromised.

Appeal to President Ramaphosa and Civil Society Pressure

The controversy escalated to an institutional level when Goliath and Masondo addressed an appeal directly to President Ramaphosa.In recent hours, a coalition of civil society organizations—including the Campaign for Free Expression, according to reports—has also called for urgent intervention, describing the episode as an abuse of ministerial power.

“External Influences” and Qatar: A Parallel Narrative

Further complicating the situation, some accounts claim the cancellation was justified by alleged external influences or attempts at political pressure, with references even extending to Qatar.These claims remain disputed and vary significantly depending on the source, but they have undeniably intensified the political temperature surrounding the case.

What Happens Next: Three Possible Scenarios

With Biennale timelines tightening, three realistic outcomes remain:

1. Reinstatement of “Elegy” (fully or in revised form), requiring rapid institutional reconciliation.

2. Replacement with a new project, logistically difficult and potentially controversial in terms of legitimacy.

3. A reduced or absent pavilion, the most feared outcome due to its symbolic, cultural, and reputational cost.

Why This Story Matters Beyond the Art World

At its core, the South African case raises a fundamental question: who decides what a country can say when it speaks to the world through art?And how far can political authority go when artistic expression addresses divisive international issues?

In a Venice Biennale increasingly read as a barometer of the present, this is not merely a dispute over one project. It is a broader test of the fragile boundary between national representation and artistic freedom on the global stage.