The lack of pavilion funding is a common reason why small or sparsely populated countries cannot participate in the Venice Biennale. In 2022, the Namibian pavilion would have debuted − now the project is on the back burner a week before the opening. Almost 400 people from the Namibian art scene had submitted a petition, as they did not consider the art of their country to be adequately represented. As a result, the main donors, Monica Cembrola and the luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent, withdrew. What will happen to the pavilion now is still unclear.
The petition argues that the artist representing Namibia can hardly be called an artist. The anonymous white man exhibits under the name RENN, is Namibian but resides in Johannesburg, South Africa and works primarily in the tourism industry. The exhibition at the Biennale would have been his artistic debut. It would be difficult to see a convincing connection to the Namibian art and culture scene.
The project was also new territory for the pavilion's curator, Marco Furio Ferrario. He describes himself as a "strategic consultant" and has also worked in the tourism industry in Namibia since 2014. Ferrario proposed RENN to the Namibian Ministry of Culture as a representative for the Biennale. In his view, the artworks on display are more important to the pavilion than the biography or origin of the creator. Since the deadline for official applications from artists has long since passed, it currently remains open what will happen to Namibia's pavilion.
