Biennale politics heats up

The Venice Biennale jury said on April 23 it will not consider Israel or Russia for top awards at the 2026 exhibition. (artnews.com) Hours later, the European Commission said it was cutting a 2 million euro grant, about $2.4 million, over Russia’s participation in the show, which opens May 9 in Venice. (abcnews.com, ec.europa.eu) The five-person jury was announced on April 22 and is led by Solange Oliveira Farkas, with Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi. The Biennale says the 61st exhibition, titled *In Minor Keys*, runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026. (labiennale.org, labiennale.org) The jury tied its decision to International Criminal Court cases against national leaders. The court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin on March 17, 2023, and for Benjamin Netanyahu on November 21, 2024. (icc-cpi.int, icc-cpi.int) This fight started before the jury spoke. Russia confirmed in early March that it would reopen its pavilion after sitting out the last two editions following the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (artnews.com) The Biennale has defended that choice by saying it does not decide national participation and that any country recognized by the Italian Republic may request to take part. For 2026, 99 nations are scheduled to present pavilions, with 29 in the Giardini and the rest across the Arsenale and the city. (abcnews.com, labiennale.org) Pressure had already been building from Brussels and from inside the art world. On March 10, the Commission said Russia’s reopening was “not compatible” with the European Union’s response to the war, and on March 27 at least 34 members of the European Parliament urged the suspension of all European Union funding if Russia took part. (ec.europa.eu, theartnewspaper.com) Israel’s pavilion was under pressure too. Nearly 200 Biennale participants signed a March 17 letter demanding its cancellation, after an earlier October 2, 2025 appeal warned of a wider boycott if the pavilion stayed in place. (theartnewspaper.com) Russia has cast its pavilion as a cultural project, not a political concession. Mikhail Shvydkoy, Russia’s delegate for international cultural exchanges, told ARTnews the exhibition would involve more than 50 young musicians, poets, and philosophers from Russia and other countries. (artnews.com) The result is a Biennale that now opens with the pavilions intact, the prize field narrowed by the jury, and European Union money pulled from the foundation. The awards ceremony is scheduled for May 9, the exhibition’s opening day. (artnews.com, labiennale.org)