Because of Russia’s controversial participation: EU stops supporting the Venice Art Biennale

“Cultural projects financed with European taxpayers’ money should uphold democratic values ​​and promote open dialogue, diversity and freedom of expression – values ​​that are not respected in today’s Russia,” the spokesman explained.

The Venice Art Biennale is one of them most important international exhibitions of contemporary art. This year she finds from May 9th to November 22nd instead of. With the grant, the EU helped support film producers and immersive technology. The European Education and Culture Executive Agency manages funds for education, culture, audiovisual media, sport, civic participation and volunteering.

Russian pavilion remains closed

Russia is taking part in the art biennale for the first time since its invasion of Ukraine began. Around 50 artists hand-picked by the Russian state, including musicians, poets and philosophers, worked on the music and performance project “The Tree is Rooted in Heaven”.

Although the pavilion, which is owned by the Russian state, remains closed to the general public, visitors can see the installation on a large screen outside. It was planned that way from the beginning, said the controversial curator Anastassija Karneyeva, daughter of an arms manager with the rank of intelligence general who works at the state-owned company Rostec. Russia sees participation as an end to its cultural isolation in the West.

Thousands of cultural monuments destroyed in Ukraine

There was already criticism after Russia’s announcement. The Russian cultural offensive was condemned as part of Moscow’s “hybrid warfare.”

Die Ukraine protested against Russia’s participationalso because, according to official information from Kyiv, thousands of cultural monuments and other cultural institutions have now been destroyed or damaged in the course of the Moscow War. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Culture Minister Tetyana Bereshna said that the designated head of the Russian pavilion had contacts with their country’s defense industry.

Members of the EU Commission announced in March that they would examine the suspension or termination of the current EU subsidy to the Biennale Foundation. “This decision by the Fondazione Biennale is incompatible with the EU’s collective reaction to Russia’s brutal aggression,” criticized Glenn Micallef and Henna Virkkunen.

Lots of crowds for the Biennale

Despite or possibly as a result of the controversy, the According to estimates, visitor numbers in the first two months are significantly higher than at the beginning of the 2024 Art Biennale. The Italian news agency Adnkronos reported a 20 percent increase in visitors in mid-July, citing sources in Venice.

There are always long queues in front of many national pavilions. If the trend continues, the current edition would become the best-attended art biennale in its more than 125-year history. The exhibition runs until November 22nd.