DA takes McKenzie to Public Protector over his withdrawal of SA&#x2019s Biennale submission

The DA has reported Sport,Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie to the Public Protector for overturning a Venice Biennale process.

Daniel Hlongwane/Gallo Images

The DA has reported Gayton McKenzie to the Public Protector for overturning a Venice Biennale process.According to the DA,McKenzie’s interference undermines due process and threatens freedom of artistic expression.McKenzie denied that his office was trying to silence the artist involved.

The DA has taken Sport,Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie to Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka after he withdrew a pro-Gaza art submission to the 61st Venice Biennale.

According to DA sports,arts and culture spokesperson Leah Potgieter,McKenzie’s interference undermines due process and threatens freedom of artistic expression.

In a statement,she said that by censoring the submission,he had abused his powers and violated his constitutional oath.

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“This complaint follows widespread media reports confirming that the minister withdrew South Africa’s official submission to the 2026 Venice Biennale after a lawful,independent selection process had already been finalised.

Potgieter added:

The DA alleges that the minister replaced a properly constituted institutional process with his own personal or political preference. Once such a process has been concluded,a minister does not have the authority to intervene simply because he disagrees with the outcome.

Over the weekend,McKenzie claimed his decision to withdraw the department’s support of a South African artist’s pro-Gaza art submission to the 61st Venice Biennale was related to the alleged involvement of an unnamed foreign country,which had sought to purchase the artwork.

The exhibition is set to take place in Venice later this year.

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McKenzie came under public criticism after the Daily Maverick reported his cancellation of the South African artwork because it dealt with the deaths of women and children in Gaza.

However,Potgieter believes McKenzie’s decision has serious implications that extend beyond a single exhibition.

“It risks creating a chilling effect on constitutional rights,including freedom of expression and freedom of opinion. If a minister can retroactively overturn artistic decisions,then all future cultural work supported or facilitated by the State becomes vulnerable to political interference,regardless of viewpoint or ideology,” she said.

READ | ‘I’m a patriot’: Gayton McKenzie explains why he cancelled pro-Gaza art submission

The DA has asked the Public Protector to investigate whether McKenzie’s conduct amounts to:

Maladministration;An abuse or unjustifiable exercise of power;An act or omission by a person performing a public function that resulted in unlawful or improper prejudice to others.

Potgieter said McKenzie’s actions made a mockery of South Africa’s constitutional commitment to freedom of expression,including the freedom of artistic creativity.

“South Africa’s creative sector depends on clear rules,institutional independence and fair process. When political actors intervene after the fact,it undermines trust in public institutions and damages South Africa’s standing internationally,” she said.

Potgieter added:

He is not a law unto himself,and he would do well to remember that being in office is not a popularity contest,but a responsibility governed by law.

McKenzie reportedly sent letters to the non-profit organisation Art Periodic,which the department had commissioned to administer the South African Pavilion at the Biennale,threatening to bar South Africa’s representation or end the department’s support if his wishes were not met.

READ | Eastern Cape mayor accuses McKenzie of misusing state resources

Following widespread criticism,McKenzie’s office responded to the matter over the weekend.

In a statement issued through his spokesperson,Stacey-Lee Khojane,McKenzie said:

“I wish to place on the record that it is incorrect to report that DSAC has withdrawn any funding from Art Periodic in staging an exhibition at the 2026 Venice Biennale. The agreement between the department and Art Periodic was to make our exhibition space available to Art Periodic to promote the work of a South African artist or artists at the exhibition,with the rental of space at the South African Pavilion in Venice already having been paid for.”

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McKenzie added that Art Periodic had undertaken to raise funding from the South African private sector to stage the exhibition,but that when it was brought to his attention that “a foreign country had allegedly undertaken to fund South Africa’s exhibition”,he had raised it as a concern with Art Periodic.

He denied that his office was trying to silence the artist involved,adding that he retained his ministerial discretion to promote South African art and artists.