The European Union will cut its €2 million (£1.74m) grant to the Venice Biennale following the return of Russia to the exhibition.
The decision was trailed by Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s foreign policy chief and former prime minister of Estonia, during a press conference on Tuesday that otherwise centred on providing economic relief and weapons to Ukraine. The decision was then confirmed on Thursday. The Biennale has 30 days to defend itself against the cut, and has previously indicated it will do so.
Russia has been absent from the show since 2022, but on its own volition. It has a permanent exhibition space in the Giardini, so it is unclear how much power the Biennale Foundation has to deny it access to the building. As it currently stands, ‘Any country recognized by the Italian Republic may ask independently to participate.’
Biennale organisers have previously said it did not have the power to eject Israel or Iran following similar calls.
According to the biennial website, a country ‘can simply send a notification if it owns a Pavilion in the Giardini, or submit a letter from the competent government authority if it does not have its own permanent Pavilion.’
Despite this, the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, has previously promised that if the Russian government, via its artists and curators, were ‘to carry out propaganda, we would be the first to close the pavilion’.
Latvia and Finland have said that they will not send any government representatives if Russia’s position is maintained.
Russia’s proposed pavilion exhibition is titled The Tree is Rooted in the Sky. Some 38 participants from Russia, as well as Argentina, Brazil, Mali and Mexico, will be present, with performances focused around sound and experimental music. A statement from organisers said that ‘the project will be dedicated to peripheral areas and practices’.
The headline and story was amended 15.35 BST, 23 April, to clarify the wording of Kaja Kallas’s remarks.
The headline and story was updated 18.20 BST, 23 April, after the EU confirmed the cut.
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