Venice Biennale funding row
- The European Union said it 'intends' to cut funding for the Venice Biennale over the return of Russia’s pavilion. (artnews.com) - The Biennale named Solange Oliveira Farkas to lead the 2026 Golden Lion jury, with awards scheduled for May 9, 2026. ( ) - Political pushback, including calls from Latvia to exclude Russia, has turned this edition into a contentious cultural moment. ( )
The European Union said this week it intends to cut Venice Biennale funding after Russia’s pavilion was readmitted for the 2026 art exhibition. (politico.eu) European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on April 21 that “Russia’s return to the Venice Biennale is morally wrong,” and ARTnews reported the threatened cut after the bloc’s sharpest public rebuke yet of the event. (artnews.com) The 61st International Art Exhibition, titled *In Minor Keys*, is scheduled to run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with pre-opening days on May 6, 7 and 8 and the awards ceremony on May 9. (labiennale.org) La Biennale di Venezia said on April 22 that Solange Oliveira Farkas will chair the five-member international jury that decides the Golden Lions and other official prizes. (labiennale.org) The fight over Russia’s pavilion has moved beyond curators and artists into European diplomacy. Latvia said it wants Russia excluded, and its culture minister said she would boycott the opening if Russia takes part. (ansa.it) Latvian public media reported in March that 22 European countries, including Latvia, backed a joint appeal asking Biennale organizers to reconsider Russia’s participation. (eng.lsm.lv) Russia’s return marks its first official pavilion at the Biennale since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. ARTnews reported that Russian artists and curator Raimundas Malašauskas withdrew in 2022, and the pavilion stayed closed that year. (artnews.com) At the 2024 edition, Russia did not mount its own national show and instead handed the keys of its Giardini pavilion to Bolivia. Russian official Mikhail Shvydkoy later said Russia “never left” the Biennale and confirmed the pavilion would reopen in May 2026. (artnews.com) The Biennale has said it does not choose which countries participate in the national pavilions and that states organize their own presentations. That position has left the exhibition trying to defend its structure while governments argue over whether Russia should appear at all. (artnews.com) What happens next is now split between two calendars: Brussels deciding whether to follow through on funding, and Venice moving ahead toward its May 9 opening and prize ceremony. (artreview.com)
