Talk:Robert Lazzarini

Edit request (COI): add section on the 2026 Venice Biennale U.S. Pavilion commission

Conflict of interest disclosure: I am the subject of this article, Robert Lazzarini.

I would like to request the addition of a new section covering the 2026 U.S. Pavilion commission and its subsequent withdrawal. It is supported entirely by independent, reliable secondary sources. Suggested placement: as a new section after the discussion of my work and before the "Collections" section (reviewers may relocate as they see fit). Proposed wikitext, with citations defined inline:

Extended content

== 2026 Venice Biennale ==

In early September 2025, the [[United States Department of State]], which administers the U.S. presentation at the [[Venice Biennale]], awarded the commission for the 2026 U.S. Pavilion to Robert Lazzarini and the independent curator John Ravenal.<ref name="WaPo">{{cite news |title=The U.S. chose an artist for the Venice Biennale — then it fell apart |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/art/2025/11/05/venice-biennale-us-pavilion-robert-lazzarini/ |work=The Washington Post |date=November 5, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Artforum-Allen">{{cite news |title=With Trump-Allied Arts Group at Helm, US Artist for 2026 Venice Biennale Is Chosen |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/alma-allen-to-represent-us-at-61st-venice-biennale-1234738432/ |work=Artforum |date=November 24, 2025}}</ref><ref name="ARTnews-falls">{{cite news |title=US Pavilion at Venice Biennale Uncertain After Robert Lazzarini Proposal Falls Through |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/us-pavilion-venice-biennale-robert-lazzarini-proposal-1234760341/ |work=ARTnews |date=November 6, 2025}}</ref> Their proposal — developed with the [[University of South Florida]]'s Contemporary Art Museum as institutional partner and titled ''History Maker'' — centered on the representation of American national symbols.<ref name="RL-site">{{cite web |title=Proposal for the US Pavilion, 2026 Venice Biennale (History Maker) |url=https://www.robertlazzarini.com/history-maker |publisher=robertlazzarini.com}}</ref><ref name="Artsy">{{cite news |title=U.S. Venice Biennale plan collapses after Robert Lazzarini's selection withdrawn |url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-venice-biennale-plan-collapses-robert-lazzarinis-selection-withdrawn |work=Artsy |date=November 7, 2025}}</ref>

After the commission had been awarded, the University of South Florida withdrew as the project's institutional sponsor, and the proposal did not proceed.<ref name="WaPo" /><ref name="Artforum-Allen" /><ref name="ARTnews-falls" /> The commissioner, curator, and artist who ultimately exhibited at the U.S. Pavilion were selected outside the open call, after it had closed on July 30, 2025.<ref name="Artforum-call">{{cite news |title=US Finally Issues Call for 2026 Venice Biennale Proposals |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/us-finally-issues-call-2026-venice-biennale-proposals-1234730586/ |work=Artforum |date=May 6, 2025}}</ref><ref name="AP">{{cite news |title=An outsider artist takes the world's biggest stage with the US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale |url=https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/wireStory/outsider-artist-takes-worlds-biggest-stage-us-pavilion-132753079 |agency=Associated Press |date=May 7, 2026}}</ref><ref name="StateDept">{{cite web |title=Department of State Announces Selection for the 2026 Venice Art Biennale |url=https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/11/department-of-state-announces-selection-for-the-2026-venice-art-biennale/ |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=November 24, 2025}}</ref> The change was widely reported as a politically driven departure from the pavilion's usual selection process.<ref name="CNN">{{cite news |last=Palumbo |first=Jacqui |title=At the Venice Biennale, the US Pavilion is chaotic |url=https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/23/style/venice-biennale-us-pavillion |work=CNN |date=April 23, 2026}}</ref><ref name="Artnet">{{cite news |title=Did the U.S. Finally Select an Artist for the Venice Biennale? |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/us-pavilion-venice-biennale-robert-lazzarini-2709240 |work=Artnet News |date=November 7, 2025}}</ref><ref name="ARTnews-Allen">{{cite news |title=State Department Confirms Alma Allen as US Pavilion Artist for 2026 Venice Biennale |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/state-department-confirms-alma-allen-2026-us-pavilion-1234763177/ |work=ARTnews |date=November 24, 2025}}</ref>

Robert Lazzarini (talk) 17:40, 7 June 2026 (UTC)

Update, 13 June 2026: An additional independent source has since been published that bears directly on this section and may strengthen it. In Ocula (Naomi Rea, 12 June 2026), curator John Ravenal is quoted on the record describing the original selection of his proposal with me through the State Department's usual independent process, the withdrawal of the institutional sponsor, and the subsequent designation of the American Arts Conservancy. The same article reports the State Department's own statement that the grant was awarded "through an open grant competition," and an NEA statement indicating it was not involved in appointing the artist. Reviewers may wish to use it as a supporting citation for the relevant sentences. Source: https://ocula.com/magazine/art-news/alma-allen-speaks-out-venice-pavilion/

Robert Lazzarini (talk) 13:07, 13 June 2026 (UTC)

Reply 25-JUN-2026

  Edit request partially implemented    Spintendo  01:45, 26 June 2026 (UTC)

References

Follow-up: expand Venice section (new NYT source) and restore awards

Thank you for implementing the section. Two follow-ups.

Venice section — new sourcing. Allen confirmed in an interview with The New York Times (November 24, 2025) that he did not apply for the commission. I'd propose appending one sentence to the existing text to reflect this. Full proposed section below. Awards. The Awards section was reduced to the 2015 residency in the same edit. The removed items (2005 NYFA Artist's Fellowship in Sculpture; 2003 American Academy of Arts and Letters; 1985 and 1986 NYFA Visual Arts Grants) are verifiable factual entries rather than tone issues, and I'd request they be restored. NYFA Fellowships appear in NYFA's public directory if an independent citation is preferred.

Proposed wikitext for the section:

Cancelled commissions

In early September 2025, the United States Department of State, which administers the U.S. presentation at the Venice Biennale, awarded the commission for the 2026 U.S. Pavilion to Robert Lazzarini and the independent curator John Ravenal. Their proposal — developed with the University of South Florida's Contemporary Art Museum as institutional partner and titled History Maker — centered on the representation of American national symbols. After the commission had been awarded, the University of South Florida withdrew as the project's institutional sponsor, and the proposal did not proceed. The State Department subsequently selected another artist who had not applied through the open application-and-review process used since 1986.

3. Section heading. I'd suggest retitling the section from "Cancelled commissions" to "2026 Venice Biennale." This is neutral and follows the standard event-based naming convention; "Cancelled commissions" (plural) also implies multiple withdrawn commissions, which is not the case. Robert Lazzarini (talk) 12:57, 26 June 2026 (UTC)

The heading rename is still outstanding. It's a section-title convention fix and doesn't depend on the neutrality question about the Venice content, so it could be actioned independently: "Cancelled commissions" → "2026 Venice Biennale". Robert Lazzarini (talk) 15:51, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

References

on hold, following up.

I posted an edit request in this section on 26 June 2026 that hasn't been actioned yet. Reposting the two items in case they were missed:

Retitle the section "Cancelled commissions" to "2026 Venice Biennale." The current heading is editorializing; the content is a factual account of a commission and its withdrawal, and a neutral date/event heading fits better. Restore the previously listed awards removed from the Awards section (2005 NYFA Artist's Fellowship in Sculpture; 2003 American Academy of Arts and Letters; 1985 and 1986 NYFA Visual Arts Grants). These are verifiable and were in the article previously.

Happy to provide sourcing for anything above. Thanks to any editor who can take a look.

Note: I have a conflict of interest as the article subject, which is why I'm requesting these changes here rather than editing directly. Robert Lazzarini (talk) 16:44, 14 August 2026 (UTC)