EU threatens to pull funding over Russia at Venice Biennale
Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale (Photo: André Filipe Correia da Fonseca/Google Maps)
The European Commission could withdraw grant support for the
Venice
Biennale if organizers do not reconsider their decision to allow Russia to
participate, the commission said
in a statement on March 10.
Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen and Culture Commissioner Glenn Micallef said the commission “has been clear in its stance concerning Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.”
“We strongly condemn the decision by the Fondazione Biennale to allow Russia to re-open its national pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition of the 2026 Venice Biennale,” the statement reads.
“Member States, institutions and organisations must act in line with EU sanctions and avoid giving a platform to individuals who have actively supported or justified the Kremlin's aggression against Ukraine.”
They warned that if Russia’s participation is allowed to go ahead, the commission “will examine further action, including the suspension or termination of an ongoing EU grant to the Biennale Foundation.”
On March 3, Russian official for international
cultural exchanges Mikhail Shvydkoy said the Russian pavilion at the Venice
Biennale will open in May 2026 — the first time since Russia’s full-scale
invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Biennale organizers confirmed it the next day,
saying the event "rejects any form of exclusion or censorship of culture
and art."
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