Venice funding row escalates

The European Union said it intends to cut funding to the Venice Biennale over the return of the Russian Pavilion for the 2026 art exhibition. (artnews.com) ARTnews reported the warning is the European Union’s strongest public step yet against Russia’s first Biennale pavilion since Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month, 37 members of the European Parliament had already called on the bloc to strip funding from the event. (artnews.com; artnews.com) Ukraine is pressing Italy, the host country, not to issue visas to Russian participants, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said on April 22. Interfax-Ukraine also reported that Kyiv has sanctioned five Russian cultural figures it says are tied to propaganda linked to the Biennale. (en.interfax.com.ua; en.interfax.com.ua) The timing is tight. La Biennale says the 61st International Art Exhibition opens to the public on May 9, 2026, after preview days on May 6, 7 and 8, and the awards ceremony is scheduled for May 9 in Venice. (labiennale.org; labiennale.org) The dispute has widened beyond Brussels and Kyiv. Interfax-Ukraine reported last month that 22 European countries opposed Russia’s participation, and Latvia’s culture minister has said she would boycott the opening if Russia takes part. (en.interfax.com.ua; yahoo.com) Russia’s pavilion matters because national pavilions are a core part of how the Venice Biennale works. La Biennale, founded in 1895, stages the exhibition across the Giardini, the Arsenale and other sites in Venice, with countries mounting their own official presentations. (labiennale.org; labiennale.org) Russia sat out the last two editions after the invasion of Ukraine. ARTnews reported that the 2022 Russian team — artists Kirill Savchenkov and Alexandra Sukhareva, and curator Raimundas Malašauskas — withdrew after the war began. (artnews.com) La Biennale has kept preparing the 2026 edition under difficult circumstances after curator Koyo Kouoh died in May 2025, and the institution said in February it would carry out her exhibition, titled *In Minor Keys*, with her family’s support. (labiennale.org) The row is also unfolding as other pavilions face unusual scrutiny. CNN reported on April 23 that the United States Pavilion had been hit by delays, a collapsed earlier plan, and fights over political oversight before settling on a presentation by sculptor Alma Allen. (kesq.com; artsy.net) With preview week less than two weeks away, the immediate questions are whether Italy issues visas, whether the European Union follows through on funding, and whether Russia’s pavilion opens on schedule on May 9. (en.interfax.com.ua; artnews.com; labiennale.org)