Tag: Biennale
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Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian Pavilions Stage Pro-Ukraine Procession During Venice Biennale
Three Baltic pavilions at the 2026 Venice Biennale—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—organized a walk in solidarity with Ukraine on May 6, one of the exhibition’s preview days. A statement from the Lithuanian Pavilion explains that the procession was dedicated to cultural workers from Ukraine “who continue to create and represent their country in conditions of war, read more
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Here’s Why the Venice Biennale Main Show Lost One Artist During the Planning Stages
When the Venice Biennale first announced the artist list for Koyo Kouoh’s main exhibition in February, the show included 111 participants. But when you visit the Biennale’s website now, you’ll find that Kouoh’s exhibition, titled “In Minor Keys,” now features 110 artists. ARTnews can reveal that the artist who was struck from the list was read more
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Guadalupe Rosales Brings East LA to Venice for the Biennale
In 2015, Los Angeles–based artist Guadalupe Rosales launched the Instagram account @veteranas_and_rucas as a way to share images from her personal archive of Chicana life in Southern California in the 1990s. In the decade since, the account has shared thousands of images and amassed over 273,000 followers, many of whom have submitted their own images read more
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The Biennale Isn’t a Court. Tell That to the Protesters.
The head of the Venice Biennale has a simple defense for one of the most contentious decisions of this year’s exhibition:it’s not a courtroom. Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, the Biennale’s president, made the remark on Wednesday this week as backlash mounted over the return of Russia to the Giardini. The country is reopening its pavilion for the read more
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Italian Culture Minister Will Not Attend Venice Biennale Opening in Protest of Russia’s Participation
Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli will not attend the opening of the Venice Biennale as a protest against the Russian Pavilion, which marks the country’s return to the exhibition following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The news was announced in a statement from the Ministry of Culture, which noted that Giuli will neither travel to read more
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Israel Addresses Venice Biennale Jury’s ‘Boycott’ of Pavilion: ‘A Contamination of the Art World’
Israel has responded to a statement released by the Venice Biennale jury, in which its five curators said last week that they would not consider any pavilions by countries who are charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. Calling that move a “boycott,” Israel’s foreign ministry denounced the jury in a statement read more
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EU Says It ‘Intends’ to Cut Funding to Venice Biennale Because of Russian Pavilion
In its most forceful condemnation yet of the world’s greatest art exhibition, the European Union said it planned to cut funding to the Venice Biennale, which will host this year host Russia’s first pavilion since the nation’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The pavilion has faced a bitter, negative response from European leaders and artists read more
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Artists Criticize Somalia’s First-Ever Venice Biennale Pavilion: ‘This Pavilion Does Not Speak for Us’
Each Venice Biennale brings with it the debut pavilions of nations who’ve never before shown at the world’s biggest art exhibition, and these are typically causes for celebration. But in the run-up to the show’s opening in May, the inaugural Somali Pavilion has instead become a source of controversy, with artists from the country saying read more
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European Commission Tells Venice Biennale to ‘Clear Its Name’ Regarding Russian Pavilion or Risk Losing $2.3 M. Grant for 2028
The European Commission, an independent arm of the EU responsible for enforcing EU law, has given the Venice Biennale 30 days to “clear its name” regarding the inclusion of the Russian Pavilion in the 2026 edition, according to a report by La Repubblica, which reviewed the letter. The letter, invoking the charge that the Biennale read more
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European Parliament Members Call on EU to Strip Funding from Venice Biennale Amid Russian Pavilion Controversy
As controversy mounts over Russia’s plans to mount its first Venice Biennale pavilion since the nation’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, 37 members of the European Parliament signed a letter that calls for the European Union to cease all funding to the Biennale. The EU has not publicly stated how much money it gives to read more
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The Venice Biennale Claims It’s Neutral—But No Art Exhibition Ever Is
The 1974 Venice Biennale has gone down in history less for what went on view than what didn’t: the show itself. The explanations for why the exhibition didn’t happen are diverse. Some accounts attribute the show’s cancelation to an embarrassing disagreement among warring Italian factions. Others follow the narrative laid out by then-Biennale president Carlo read more
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Biennale of Sydney Denies Discrimination as Jewish Group Denounces Pro-Palestine Artists
The Biennale of Sydney, the most important biennial in the Pacific region, denied discrimination in its current edition after some members of Australia’s Jewish community repeatedly claimed that curator Hoor Al Qasimi had selected for participants with anti-Zionist politics. One prominent Jewish group, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, had initially been invited to preview read more
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Abortion Nonprofit Claims Artwork in Malta Biennale Was Censored
The second edition of the Malta Biennale opened in previews this week, and it was not without controversy. Women on Waves, a nonprofit that provides information on safe abortion in restrictive settings, accused the Biennale’s organizers of “censoring” an artwork by the organization just before the opening on Tuesday. The work originally featured a banner read more
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Luxembourg’s Culture Minister Defends Country’s Venice Biennale Budget After Critics Say It’s Too High
Luxembourg’s pavilion for the upcoming Venice Biennale has sparked a political spat at home, after lawmakers questioned both the cost of the project and the nature of the work set to represent the country. At the center of the debate is La Merde, a project by Luxembourg-born artist Aline Bouvy representing the country at the read more
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EU Says It Could Pull Funding to Venice Biennale Over Russian Pavilion
The European Union said it could pull funding to the Venice Biennale if the show goes through with hosting Russia, adding to mounting furor over plans by the country to show at the world’s most important art exhibition for the first time since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Henna Virkkunen and Glenn Micallef, respectively the read more
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Designer Dries Van Noten to Launch Foundation in Venice Ahead of the Biennale
Fashion designer Dries Van Noten and his partner Patrick Vangheluwe will launch next month a new foundation in Venice dedicated to craftsmanship. The new Fondazione Dries Van Noten will be located in the historic Palazzo Pisani Moretta on the Grand Canal in the San Polo neighborhood. Over the course of each year, the foundation will read more
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Michael Joo Looks Back On His Career, With Another Venice Biennale Appearance on the Horizon
On a recent quiet, cloudy afternoon in Tribeca, artist Michael Joo and I crouched beside a tower of aluminum baking trays. The towers covered a whole section of Space ZeroOne, the Hanwha Foundation of Culture’s new institutional initiative. The gallery was otherwise empty. Joo moved slowly between the columns of trays, occasionally bending down to read more
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Alma Allen, Artist Representing US at 2026 Venice Biennale, Joins Perrotin
Alma Allen, the sculptor chosen to represent the United States at this year’s edition of the Venice Biennale, has joined Galerie Perrotin, a blue-chip French gallery with locations inParis, London, Hong Kong, New York, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Dubai, and Los Angeles. As ARTnews’s Maximilíano Durón and Sarah Douglas reported upon Allen’s selection in November, sources read more
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Dia Art Foundation to Stage Lee Ufan Exhibition During Venice Biennale
The Dia Art Foundation will mount a solo presentation dedicated to Lee Ufan as an official collateral event to the 2026 Venice Biennale. Opening May 9, the exhibition will be curated by Dia director Jessica Morgan and staged at the San Marco Art Centre. The exhibition in Venice, along with a display of Lee’s paintings read more
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Russia’s Pavilion at the Venice Biennale Is Set to Reopen This Year, But Officials Say It Isn’t a ‘Return’
After closing for the last two editions of the Venice Biennale following its war in Ukraine, Russia will reopen its national pavilion this year, its organizers told ARTnews. In February 2022, Russian artists Kirill Savchenkov and Alexandra Sukhareva, along with Lithuanian curator Raimundas Malašauskas, withdrew from the pavilion from that year’s Biennale, citing Moscow’s invasion read more
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