The EU withdraws funding from the Venice Biennale, which took Russia back

European Union announced on Tuesday that it was canceling the two million euro grant granted to the Venice Biennale.

The reason is Russia’s presence in the world’s largest contemporary art exhibition.

“Cultural events funded by European taxpayers’ money should protect democratic values, promote open dialogue, diversity and freedom of speech – values ​​that are not respected in today’s Russia,” European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said according to news agency AFP.

Russia is participating in the biennale, which opened in May, for the first time since 2022, when the country launched a bloody major attack on Ukraine.

of Venice the biennale decided to allow Russia to participate in the event, and this was announced last March.

Ukrainian Minister of Culture Tetjana Berežna likened Russia’s involvement to inviting a serial killer to dinner with friends.

At the end of April, the event’s international jury resigned just days after it was held toldthat it will not award prizes to artists who come from countries accused of war crimes.

At the time, the board did not mention which countries by name, but in practice the notification concerned Russia and Israel, which have been under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

In a statement on Tuesday, the biennale said it could wait for the withdrawal of its grant and said it would defend its rights in all relevant forums.

Correction 22.7. 10:30 am: The article incorrectly stated that the jury of the biennale had resigned in protest against the inclusion of Russia. The jury did not name a single country in its resignation notice, but in practice the notice concerned Israel as well as Russia.