The Venice Art Biennale 's official awards ceremony usually marks the event's opening, and the Golden and Silver Lion prizes typically contribute to launching artists' international careers. But this year's Biennale — often described as the "Olympics of the art world" — is embroiled in controversy, and the traditional awarding of the coveted accolades at the start of the event on May 9 has been canceled after the entire jury in charge of selecting the prizewinners resigned, just days before the