Culture

Venice Biennale Roiled by Russia Row

Is including war criminals a diplomatic disaster, a stand for artistic unity or is this an elitist facade?

Published MAY 5

Story

Above: The Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy, on May 5. Image credit: Marco Bertorello/Getty Images

The Facts

Russia's pavilion returned to the Venice Biennale, set to begin this Saturday, for the first time since 2022. The European Commission sent two letters opposing Russia's inclusion and threatened to suspend more than $2.3 million in funding if the Biennale did not reverse course.
Mezha
Brussels Signal
The 61st Biennale's five-member international jury, led by Brazilian curator Solange Farkas, resigned on April 30, citing its earlier decision not to award prizes to artists from countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court warrants, namely Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The New York Times
Brussels Signal
Event organizers also confirmed Monday that Iran withdrew from the event amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Reports suggested that logistical barriers, such as no available flights or postal services, were a major factor in the decision.
il Giornale
Far Out magazine
Russia's pavilion, titled "The Tree Is Rooted in the Sky," features a group show of at least 38 artists and musicians and opened only during the press preview. A recording of the performance is projected on screens on the pavilion's facade, visible to passersby, while the interior remains closed for the rest of the Biennale.
il Giornale
The New York Times
The Polish Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, titled "Liquid Tongues," was conceived by deaf artist Daniel Kotowski and artist Bogna Burska. The audio-video installation features a choir of hearing and deaf performers interpreting whale communication through International Sign and spoken English.
Devdiscourse
Observer (NY)
Utah-born sculptor Alma Allen, who lives and works in Mexico, is representing the United States at the 61st Venice Biennale. British artist Anish Kapoor is also presenting work in Venice at the Palazzo Manfrin, featuring roughly 100 architectural models spanning 50 years of his career alongside large-scale installations.
The Times (UK)
The New York Times

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

Allowing Russia back into the Venice Biennale was a diplomatic disaster, with 22 European governments protesting, the jury resigning and the European Commission firing off multiple letters condemning the decision. Their pavilion staying closed to the public while projecting videos on its facade is also a transparent workaround that fools nobody. Warmongering regimes, which also include the U.S. and Israel, shouldn't be rewarded for their behavior on the world stage.

guardian

Mezha

Narrative B

The Venice Biennale's mission is to unite nations through art, and excluding Russia — or any country, for that matter — undermines that purpose entirely. The Russian pavilion belongs to the Russian Federation — the Biennale and the Italian state have no legal authority over it, making the EU's threat to pull a 2 million-euro grant pure political coercion. Art has always been a force for peace, and weaponizing funding to dictate who participates corrupts that ideal.

TASS

il Giornale

Cynical narrative

Geopolitics aside, the Venice Biennale — like the rest of the global art-exhibition circuit — has long since stopped being about art. It's now a gilded trade fair for the 0.1 percent — collectors, gallerists and auction houses who treat national pavilions as branded real-estate opportunities and turn the whole event into a week-long networking spree dressed up as cultural diplomacy. The work itself has grown relentlessly safe and market-tested, while younger artists without trust funds or dealer connections are priced out entirely.