Russia to Rejoin Venice Art Biennale
After a four-year absence, Russia will return to the Venice Biennale, the world's most iconic contemporary art exhibition. Organizers are framing the return as a "space of truce," sparking debate on the role of art and culture amid global conflict.
Russia's four-year absence began in February 2022, when the selected artists, Kirill Savchenkov and Alexandra Sukhareva, and their curator, Raimundas Malašauskas, withdrew from the 59th Biennale. They resigned in protest just days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, stating, "There is no place for art when civilians are dying under the fire of missiles." The historic Russian pavilion, a permanent structure in the Giardini designed by architect Alexey Shchusev in 1914, did not sit empty during the subsequent 2024 exhibition. Russia loaned the space to Bolivia, which hosted an exhibition featuring artists from several South American countries. The 2026 return is being managed by commissioner Anastasia Karneeva, daughter of a retired general and former deputy director of the state-owned defense corporation Rostec. The project, titled "The Tree is Rooted in the Sky," will reportedly involve over 50 young musicians, poets, and philosophers from Russia and nations including Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Mikhail Shvydkoi, Russia's delegate for international cultural exchanges, has stated that Russia "never left" the Biennale and is simply seeking "new forms of creative activity." However, the decision to return has been met with sharp criticism. The Italian Ministry of Culture has distanced itself from the move, stating the Biennale Foundation made the decision independently. Lithuania's Foreign Minister, Kęstutis Budrys, condemned the return, stating, "It is impossible to return to normal life with a murderer and a terrorist." The curator of the Ukrainian pavilion, Kseniia Malykh, noted that Russia has been finding ways to "slip into important platforms" for the past four years, often by repositioning artists as based in other countries. In response to the return, the Russian feminist protest art collective Pussy Riot has announced it will perform in Venice in protest. The group stated, "Ukrainian children who have lost their parents and their homes will indeed not be able to understand that."
