EU gives Biennale 30 days

The European Commission has given the Venice Biennale 30 days to answer allegations that a planned Russian pavilion could breach European Union sanctions, with €2 million in funding at risk. (artnews.com) A letter sent on Friday, April 10, by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency to Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco set a May 11 deadline, two days after the exhibition opens to the public on May 9. The Commission said it could “suspend or terminate” a grant tied to the 2028 edition. (artnews.com) Brussels had already warned the Biennale on March 10. In an official statement, Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Culture Commissioner Glenn Micallef said Russia’s return was “not compatible” with the European Union’s response to Moscow’s war against Ukraine and said further action could include ending an ongoing grant. (ec.europa.eu) The dispute centers on Russia’s planned participation in the 61st International Art Exhibition, the first official Russian pavilion since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Russian pavilion has been closed since that year’s Biennale. (theartnewspaper.com) The Commission’s letter argues that accepting Russian artists as a “governmental delegation,” funded and promoted by the Russian state, could amount to indirect support from the Russian government in exchange for a cultural platform. The same letter also asked the Biennale to describe any “corrective measures” it planned to take. (artnews.com) Pressure has also come from European governments. Euronews reported that Ukraine and 22 European Union countries protested the reopening, and Italian newspaper La Repubblica, cited by ARTnews, reported that the Commission separately wrote to Italy’s foreign ministry on March 26 seeking its position. (euronews.com, artnews.com) The clash has exposed divisions inside Italy’s government. Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli criticized the reopening, while Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called the Commission’s threat “blackmail” and said Brussels was wrong to pressure “one of the most important and free cultural bodies in the world.” (euronews.com) Biennale organizers have defended the event in broader terms. The foundation said Venice should remain a “place of dialogue” and a platform for the “cessation of conflicts and suffering,” even as Brussels moves from public warning to a formal funding procedure. (theartnewspaper.com) The next deadline is now May 11. If the Biennale does not change course before or after the May 9 opening, the Commission has said the €2 million grant could be frozen or withdrawn. (artnews.com, ec.europa.eu)