European Parliament Members Call on EU to Strip Funding from Venice Biennale Amid Russian Pavilion Controversy
ARTnews reports that 37 members of the European Parliament signed a letter urging the European Union to stop all funding to the Venice Biennale amid controversy over Russia’s planned pavilion, its first since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The letter, obtained by Politico, says the EU has granted around €2 million to the Biennale over a three-year period and argues Russia should not participate in an event supported by European taxpayers; it also calls for a formal review of pavilion participants and possible sanctions or “targeted restrictive measures” against individuals or entities linked to the Russian government or war effort. The Biennale has said it cannot remove a nation and describes itself as a forum for “dialogue, openness, and artistic freedom,” though in 2022 it staged a dedicated Ukrainian project while Russia’s pavilion closed after its team withdrew; in 2024, Russia loaned its pavilion to Bolivia. ARTnews adds that the Biennale has proposed additional projects that indirectly address past protests, including one dedicated to former Biennale president Carlo Ripa di Meana, who in 1973 shut down the art exhibition to present a project about Chile’s military dictatorship.
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This story was covered in Museums Unearthed, Biennales in the Crosshairs