Overview
- Judge Mamokolo Kubushi of the North Gauteng High Court dismissed Gabrielle Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo’s urgent application without giving reasons and awarded costs to the respondents, including Minister Gayton McKenzie.
- The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture confirmed there will be no government-backed exhibition in South Africa’s pavilion this year, leaving the national space in Venice empty.
- Goliath and Masondo said they will appeal the ruling and are exploring non-state ways to present Elegy in Venice despite missed Biennale submission deadlines.
- McKenzie canceled the state-backed pavilion on January 2 after calling the Gaza-focused element of Goliath’s Elegy 'highly divisive,' alleging he was misled and terminating the ministry’s contract with Art Periodic.
- Arts groups and prominent figures criticized the judgment as a blow to artistic freedom, noting the absence of reasons and the practical effect of deadlines that now leave South Africa without official representation.