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Nursultan, Kazakhstan, formerly known as Astana, which is the capital of the country.
SHUTTERSTOCK
At this year’s Venice Biennale, which opens in May, Kazakhstan had been slated to present its inaugural pavilion. But as of today, it’s been reported that the pavilion is officially cancelled. According to the Art Newspaper, the cancellation comes on the heels of its curators being informed via a press statement shared on Facebook by the pavilion’s commissioning body that their “services were no longer required” due to budget cuts. The news comes during a period of tumult in the country; the nation’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, unexpectedly resigned after nearly 30 years in office, amid protests.
The pavilion had been commissioned by the National Museum of Kazakhstan, and Roza Abenova, the museum’s head of contemporary art, and Nadim Samman, who organized the 2012 Marrakech Biennale, were originally slated to curate it. Abenova has since resigned from her post at the museum, and Samman claims that he is still awaiting payment from the museum for the curatorial work he’s done for the pavilion since he was appointed in October.
Another team of curators purporting to be the official organizers of the Kazakhstan had also reportedly been active in organizing the pavilion and had initially been listed on the Venice Biennale’s website. Since the announcement of the cancellation, though, Kazakhstan has been removed from the site, and its participation appears to be off.
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