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To: Gayton McKenzie, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa
#HandsOffGabrielleGoliath: Gayton McKenzie must stop censoring our artists
Minister Gayton McKenzie cancelled Gabrielle Goliath’s participation at the 2026 Venice Biennale because part of her artwork, which addresses the killing of women and children in Gaza, the Ovaherero and Nama genocide perpetrated by German colonial forces in Namibia in the early 1900s and the ongoing femicide in South Africa [1].
We call on President Ramaphosa to:
- Get the Minister to explain in detail why he thinks Gabrielle Goliath's artwork depicting violence against women and children in Gaza is divisive, and why he decided to cancel her participation at the 2026 Venice Biennale.
- Apologise to Gabrielle Goliath for censoring her artwork.
- Get Minister Gayton McKenzie to stop interfering in our arts. He should not be dictating the content that artists produce, as his portfolio starts and ends with being a Minister, not an artist.
Why is this important?
Minister McKenzie’s decision has serious implications that extend beyond a single exhibition. It risks harming constitutional rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of opinion.
This will set a terrible precedent and prevent artists from creating and expressing themselves freely. If a minister can overturn artistic decisions, then all future cultural work supported or facilitated by the state becomes vulnerable to political interference, regardless of viewpoint or ideology.
The Minister's decision to prevent South Africa from participating in the biennale was a blatant abuse of power and a clear violation of an artist’s freedom of expression. We cannot let the Minister of Arts and Culture use his power to override artistic freedom by censoring artists.
What Minister McKenzie did is maladministration, and we have to hold him accountable to ensure that he does not do something like this again.
References
- Gayton McKenzie pulls the plug on SA’s Venice Biennale submission because it alludes to Gaza genocide, Niren Tolsi for Daily Maverick, 09 January 2026.