July 21, 2026, 3:21 p.mJuly 21, 2026, 3:21 p.m
The Venice Biennale will take place until November this year. (archive image)Image: keystone
The EU stops funding the Venice Art Biennale because of Russia’s controversial participation. Following the legal assessment and recommendation of the EU Commission, the European Executive Agency for Education and Culture (EACEA) has decided to end the current two million euro grant to the Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia, a Commission spokesman said in Brussels.
“Cultural projects financed with European taxpayers’ money should uphold democratic values and promote open dialogue, diversity and freedom of expression – values that are not respected in today’s Russia,” explained the spokesman.
The Venice Art Biennale is one of the most important international exhibitions of contemporary art. This year it takes place from May 9th to November 22nd. With the grant, the EU helped support film producers and immersive technology. The European Education and Culture Executive Agency manages funds for education, culture, audiovisual media, sport, civic participation and volunteering.
Russian pavilion remains closed
Russia is taking part in the art biennale for the first time since its invasion of Ukraine began. 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”.
Inside the Russian pavilion, there are busy performances – even without a wide audience.Image: keystone
Although the pavilion, which is owned by the Russian state, remains closed to the general public, visitors can see the installation on a large screen outside. It was planned that way from the beginning, said the controversial curator Anastassija Karneyeva, daughter of an arms manager with the rank of intelligence general who works at the state-owned company Rostec. Russia sees participation as an end to its cultural isolation in the West.
Thousands of cultural monuments destroyed in Ukraine
There was already criticism after Russia’s announcement. The Russian cultural offensive was condemned as part of Moscow’s “hybrid warfare”.
Ukraine protested against Russia’s participation, also because, according to official information from Kiev, thousands of cultural monuments and other cultural institutions have now been destroyed or damaged in the course of the Moscow War. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Culture Minister Tetyana Bereshna said that the designated head of the Russian pavilion had contacts with their country’s defense industry.
Members of the EU Commission announced in March that they would examine the suspension or termination of the current EU subsidy to the Biennale Foundation. “This decision by the Fondazione Biennale is not compatible with the EU’s collective reaction to Russia’s brutal aggression,” criticized Glenn Micallef and Henna Virkkunen.
Lots of crowds for the Biennale
Despite or possibly as a result of the controversy, the number of visitors in the first two months was estimated to be significantly higher than at the beginning of the 2024 Art Biennale. The Italian news agency Adnkronos reported a 20 percent increase in visitors in mid-July, citing sources in Venice.
There are always long queues in front of many national pavilions. If the trend continues, the current edition would become the best-attended art biennale in its more than 125-year history. The exhibition runs until November 22nd. (sda/dpa/cpf)