Italian Culture Minister Will Skip Venice Biennale Opening

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Venice Biennale Faces New Rift as Italy's Culture Minister Skips Opening Over Russian Pavilion

The Venice Biennale is heading into its opening days with a political dispute that now reaches from Rome to Brussels. Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli will not attend the preview or the May 9 opening ceremony, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture, in protest of the Russian Pavilion's return to the exhibition.

Russia is back at the Biennale after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the pavilion's reopening was approved by Venice Biennale director Pietrangelo Buttafuoco. That decision has intensified criticism across the European art world and the political sphere, where the question of whether a national pavilion can be separated from the state it represents has become increasingly difficult to avoid.

The dispute has also exposed divisions inside Italy. Tamara Gregoretti, the culture ministry's representative on the Biennale's board of directors, said she had no intention of resigning and reiterated her support for Moscow's participation. Matteo Salvini has also voiced support for Russia's inclusion in the exhibition.

Outside Italy, the backlash has grown more pointed. The European Union said earlier this month that it intended to cut funding to the Biennale, an unusual rebuke of the institution's decision to allow the Russian Pavilion to reopen. The EU reportedly contributes €2 million to each edition of the exhibition. Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission, called Russia's participation“morally wrong,” arguing that a country accused of bombing museums, destroying churches, and erasing Ukrainian culture should not be given a platform.

Ukraine, which is also returning to the Biennale this year, has sanctioned five individuals associated with the Russian Pavilion and lobbied for their visas to be revoked. At the same time, dozens of artists in the main exhibition signed an open letter demanding the exclusion of Russia, Israel, and the United States, which they described as“current regimes committing war crimes.”

Biennale organizers have refused those demands, maintaining that any state recognized as a nation in Italy may participate. The jury, however, has taken a narrower position. It recently announced that it will not consider nations whose leaders have been charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, a move that effectively excludes Russia and Israel from award consideration.

Issued the day after the jury was announced, the statement invoked“a responsibility towards the historical role of the Biennale as a platform that connects art to the urgencies of its time.” Led by Solange Farkas, the jury said it was committed to the“defense of human rights,” in line with Koyo Kouoh's vision for the main exhibition. As the Biennale opens, the institution is once again being asked to define where artistic inclusion ends and political accountability begins.

MENAFN27042026005694012507ID1111038293