The Venice Art Biennale 'on fire': Russia and Israel shake the great showcase of contemporary art

VeniceAt the Venice Art Biennale, everything is quite for the gallery: in each edition, almost a hundred countries from all over the world boast about their artists with the desire that, at least for a few days, politics does not overshadow the desire to show off internationally. But in the current international political situation, with Russia, Israel and the United States at war, this is still impossible. The next edition will open its doors to the public on Saturday, May 9th, with a Biennale in flames, and with the participation in the official section of Cuba, represented by Roberto Diago. The participation of Iran was planned, but on Monday afternoon the Iranian authorities issued a statement announcing that they have not been able to move forward with the pavilion. Iran had announced its presence in Venice in February before the outbreak of the war, and had announced that the curator was Aydin Mahdizadeh Tehrani. Previously, on Thursday, April 30th, the jury had resigned en bloc due to the presence of the pavilions of Russia and Israel.

The path of this edition of the Venice Art Biennale began with a mourning: the artistic director, curator Koyo Kouoh, died prematurely at 57 years old last May victim of a fulminant cancer, about ten days before publicly presenting her project, titled In minor keys [In minor keys]. She was the first African woman in this position. Born in Cameroon and raised in Switzerland, Kouoh was known for feminist and Africa-centered projects. The direction of the Venice Biennale foundation decided to move forward with her project with Kouoh's collaborators: Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira, Rasha Salti, Siddhartha Mitter, and Rory Tsapayi.

Reviewing the mass resignation of the jury of the 61st Venice Art Biennale and the controversies of recent months, one can understand how politicians set the artistic agenda or, at least, try to launder themselves in the great international showcase of contemporary art. The Art Biennale will open to the press and professionals this Tuesday, and everything indicates that protests over the presence of Russia and Israel will begin on the same day. The Latvian team has launched an international protest campaign titled Death in Venice, for which they have designed a logo consisting of the Biennale's mark turned into the Kremlin wall, which visitors and artists will wear as badges to show their public opposition to Russia's presence.

On the other hand, there will be a Procession of Poets in the Giardini in honor of Koyo Kouoh. Although it is an official event, it is expected that artists will use it as a platform to read manifestos against the institution's "neutrality" in the face of war crimes.

The jury resigns due to its commitment to human rights and the Koyo Kouoh project

The winners of the best national pavilion and best artist will be decided by visitors and will be made public at the end of the biennale.

The jury for each edition of the Venice Art Biennale is usually chosen jointly by the artistic direction and the foundation. This year's jury, until Thursday, consisted of Brazil's Solange Farkas, who was its president, Australia's Zoe Butt, Spain's Elvira Dyangani Ose (former director of Macba), North America's Marta Kuzma, and Italy's Giovanna Zapperi. Tensions with the foundation began on April 23 when they announced that Israel and Russia were excluded from the voting because their leaders, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, are "accused of crimes against humanity." In a statement, the five experts declared that in this edition of the Biennale they wanted to express their "firm commitment to the defense of human rights, following the line of Koyo Kouoh." Kouoh's project reads: "By refusing the spectacle of horror, the time has come to listen to the minor tones, to tune in sotto voce to the whispers, to the lower frequencies; to find the oases, the islands, where the dignity of all living beings is safeguarded."

The Russian government announces that its pavilion will only be open during professional days

Why is Russia returning in this edition?

The Russian government announces that its pavilion will only be open during professional days

Russia last participated in the Art Biennale in 2019. In the 2022 edition, the curators and artists resigned, and the pavilion was left empty. In 2024, Russia ceded its seat to Bolivia. This year's project will be titled The tree is rooted in the sky. The curator will be Anastasiia Karneeva, sanctioned by Kyiv in April for being the daughter of the deputy general director of the Russian state industrial conglomerate Rostec.

Why is Russia returning to Venice this year? Politically, Giorgia Meloni's government has expressed its support for Ukraine, but at the same time, it has tried to balance not completely breaking with Russia. In fact, Meloni caused a stir in January when she proposed creating the role of a "special European envoy" to negotiate with Moscow. In the cultural sphere, the Italian government renewed the presidency of the Biennale in October 2023 with journalist and writer Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, as part of a wave to place conservative managers at the head of major museums, theaters, and awards. Buttafuoco is a controversial figure because in his youth he was a leader of the Fronte della Gioventù, the youth organization of the neo-fascist party Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI).

The Italian government distanced itself from the controversy surrounding the announcement of Russia's return. The Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, announced that he would not attend the inauguration, and asked the representative of the Italian government on the foundation's board, Tamara Gregoretti, to resign for not having vetoed the invitation, although she replied that she would not.

The Biennale's invitation to Russia was attributed to the foundation's "total autonomy" and against the government's orientation. The Biennale then defended its position, arguing that any country recognized by Italy can participate and that the institution "excludes any form of censorship of art and culture".

Russia yes, but with the risk of losing 2 million euros

The European Commission threatens to freeze aid for film producers allocated until 2028

The Biennale has played hard for Russia to participate. The European Commission threatened to withdraw a subsidy of 2 million euros intended for a virtual reality project for film producers assigned until 2028. And the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Henna Virkkunen, and the European Commissioner for Culture, Glenn Micallef, strongly condemned the Biennale's management's decision in a note made public on March 10. The European Commission gave the Biennale a period of thirty days to rectify, but it has not backed down. There have been developments from the Russian side, which announced that the pavilion will only be open during the preliminary days reserved for professionals and journalists. That is, it will not be open to the general public, to avoid potential sabotage.

On the other hand, 22 European Ministers of Culture signed a letter expressing their concern about Russia's participation in the Biennale, and the Arts Against Aggression International Movement launched a similar letter. In parallel to the dispute between the Italian government and the European Commission, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, signed a decree to sanction five Russian cultural personalities linked to the Venice pavilion, accused of "justifying aggression and spreading propaganda", among whom is Anastasia Karneeva.

The dispute over the space that the Biennale reserves for Israel at the Arsenale

The Art Not Genocide Alliance collective demands its exclusion

The central exhibitions of the Venice art and architecture biennales unfold in two large spaces: the central pavilion in the Giardini complex and the Arsenale, a former naval base converted into exhibition spaces. The Arsenale also houses the exhibitions of some states that do not have their own pavilion in the Giardini. Israel does have one, but it is under renovation this year, and the Biennale has reserved a space for them in the Arsenale. Thus, the controversy over its presence in Venice is twofold. Israel's representative will be the sculptor Belu-Simion Fainaru with the installation Rose of nothingness [The rose of nothingness], which will include a trickle of agricultural irrigation. According to the artist himself, the water will accumulate on the floor of the room, forming a pool that for him is an image of the encounter between different communities. It seems like a new version of a work from a few years ago.

In 2024, the Israeli pavilion closed, but it was a perverse closure: the artist Ruth Patir and curators Mira Lapidot and Tamar Margalit announced by surprise that they refused to open the pavilion until there was "a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement to release the hostages." Despite this, one of the exhibition's videos was visible through the glass.

Following Israel's inclusion, the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) collective sent a letter to the presidency and board of the Biennale demanding Israel's exclusion from the 2026 edition and denouncing the lack of response to a previous petition. The letter, titled "No to the Genocide Pavilion at the Venice Biennale", is a show of support for "fellow artists and cultural workers in Palestine" and with "deep hope for an end to the ongoing Zionist genocide and apartheid." They also recall that in 2024, "the outrage [...] was so strong that Israel's pavilion was forced to close." One of the central points is the denunciation of Palestinian cultural destruction: they state that Israeli violence also targets "art and culture": Israeli forces "kill, imprison, and persecute artists" and "destroy museums, archives, cultural centers..." It concludes that "as long as Israel exists through genocide, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid, it should not be represented," appealing for consistency with the institution's values. The letter was signed by 178 artists participating in the Biennale, curators, and art world professionals. In the central exhibition, there will be a Palestinian artist, Mohammed Joha (Gaza, 1978), based in Marseille.

In the past, the Venice Biennale did take a stand against fascism and in favor of human rights: in 1974, the Biennale dedicated the entire edition to Chile under the slogan "Freedom for Chile", transforming the event into a major platform to denounce the 1973 coup d'état and the repression by Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. Another case was that of apartheid South Africa: between 1950 and 1960 it was marginalized, and in 1968 it was vetoed with an official ban based on United Nations resolution 2396 to suspend "exchanges with the racist regime." South Africa was not readmitted to the Biennale until apartheid was abolished in 1993.

Furthermore, ANGA, together with the Biennalocene union, has called for a day of strike on Friday, May 8, and a rally at 4:30 PM on Via Garibaldi, near the Giardini. "The genocide has not ended. In Gaza, after the systematic destruction of infrastructure and essential services, Israel continues to exercise control and violence. In the West Bank, expropriation and settler violence are intensifying. The expansion of the conflict to the entire region, from Lebanon to Iran, further exacerbates an already devastating war. And yet, while the violence continues, the Biennale continues to offer space and legitimacy to the State of Israel. A clear double standard: international law is invoked for some, while for others it is suspended [...] We reject artwashing and cultural complicity with violence. At the same time, we denounce the material conditions of our sector: generalized precarity, inadequate contracts, outsourcing, and lack of protections. The same economy that finances the war also erodes well-being and rights here," says the call.

The culture wars of the United States

Republicans removed references to diversity and inclusion in the selection of their representative in Venice

Donald Trump's tremors of the international order also include cultural wars within the United States itself. The selection of the artist representing the USA at the Biennial has been marked by interventionism. Finally, the selected artist is the self-taught sculptor Alma Allen (Salt Lake City, 1970), who lives and works in Mexico. In the organization of the non-profit pavilion close to Trump called American Arts Conservancy, Allen is the first white man to represent the United States since 2019. And in the selection process, just as Trump imposed on federal museums, references to diversity and inclusion were eliminated.