May 9, 2026, 7:43 amMay 9, 2026, 7:43 am
Russian and Ukrainian in front of the Russian pavilion in Venice.Image: keystone
After all the trouble surrounding Russia and Israel’s participation, the 61st Venice Art Biennale starts without ceremony. When one of the most important international art events opens its doors to a wide audience at 11 a.m., it does so without an opening ceremony. Since the jury resigned in the dispute, prizes will only be awarded at the end in November, then awarded by the audience.
“Putin won”
“Putin won the Biennale,” says Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli bitterly. If Biennale director Pietrangelo Buttafuoco had informed the government about Russia’s desire to participate before any commitment was made, it could have been used as a bargaining chip – perhaps for a ceasefire in Ukraine, he told the Italian newspaper “Corriere della sera”. Not everyone sees it that way: Italy’s right-wing deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini warns against censorship.
Buttafuoco reacts to his critics with incomprehension, complains about intolerance and accusations of censorship. The Biennale is not a court. “This is a garden of peace, a place to exhibit, a place to discuss, a place to listen,” he said.
Russian pavilion remains closed
Russia, which celebrates World War II Victory Day today, sees its first participation since its invasion of Ukraine began as an end to its cultural isolation in the West. Around 50 artists hand-picked by the Russian state, including musicians, poets and philosophers, worked on the music and performance project “The Tree is Rooted in Heaven”.
The pavilion, which is the property of the Russian state, will remain closed to the general public from today. Visitors can see the installation on a large screen outside. It was planned that way from the beginning, says the controversial curator Anastassija Karneyeva, daughter of an arms manager with the rank of intelligence general who works at the state-owned company Rostec.
“Art is never neutral”
Critics condemn the Russian cultural offensive as part of Moscow’s “hybrid warfare.” While Russia is killing, the Biennale is opening its doors to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s officials and propagandists, says Nadia Tolokonnikova, frontwoman of the punk band Pussy Riot, which is banned in Russia.
The Biennale could have invited Russian artists who were persecuted after their depiction of “Putin’s regime”. “Art is never neutral,” she emphasized during a protest at the pavilion together with Ukrainian activists from the Femen group.
Ukraine also protested against Russia’s return to the Biennale because, according to Kiev’s official figures, thousands of cultural monuments and other cultural institutions have now been destroyed or damaged in the wake of the Moscow War. Tens of thousands of cultural objects important to the country’s identity were kidnapped – and 346 artists were killed in the course of the Russian invasion, it is said in Kiev.
The country battered by Russia’s war is bringing the “Security Guarantees” project to Venice. The Ukrainian artist Zanna Kadyrova is recreating her sculpture “Origami Deer” out of paper – the work of art was brought to safety from the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region in 2024 during the chaos of war.
Israeli artist feels isolated
And Israel? After all, the jury wanted to exclude the country, along with Russia, from the award ceremony before withdrawing as a whole. The Romanian-Israeli sculptor Belu-Simion Fainaru told the newspaper “Welt” that he was happy about this resignation. But in Venice he was “completely isolated,” reported the designer of the Israeli pavilion. “There is no interaction with a single artist or curator at the Biennale.”
Fainaru does not want to be held responsible for the policies of the Israeli government, whose boss Benjamin Netanyahu has an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in the Gaza Strip. “In any case, I came to Venice as an artist and not to represent my political stance or that of my country or to comment on allegations against a head of government,” he told the “Jüdische Allgemeine”. “I would very much like to leave that to the politicians.”
Israel’s participation nevertheless calls for demonstrators: on the eve of the opening, around 2,000 people took to the streets in Venice. The police pushed them back with signs and batons. (sda/dpa)