Russia will reopen its national pavilion this year after two Venice Biennales ended following the war in Ukraine, organizers said art news.
In February 2022, Russian artists Kirill Savchenkov and Alexandra Sukhareva and Lithuanian curator Raimundas Malašauskas withdrew from that year’s Biennale pavilion, citing Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Calling the war “politically and emotionally unbearable” and saying “art has no place” in the conflict, they resigned and posted a message on Instagram simply saying: “The Russian Pavilion will remain closed.”
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Two years later, at the 2024 Venice Biennale, Russia handed over the keys to its pavilion in Giardini to the Plurinational State of Bolivia in order to build a pavilion for the 60th Venice Biennale. Russia has made no public statements, and art newsAttempts to contact the pavilion organizers and the country’s Ministry of Culture for comment at the time were unsuccessful.
However, on Tuesday, Mikhail Shvydkoy, Russia’s representative for international cultural exchange and former Russian culture minister, confirmed that the Russian pavilion will open in May along with the remaining pavilions of the 2026 Biennale.
“I would like to point out that Russia has never left the Venice Biennale,” he wrote in an email. “The presence of our pavilion – regardless of what happens there, whether it is the exhibition of our Latin American friends or the hosting of the educational center of the Biennale as a whole – means the presence of our country in the cultural space of Venice. So since we are not going anywhere, we are not ‘coming back’. We are simply seeking new forms of creative activity in the current situation.”
Shvydkoy said the upcoming pavilion will feature more than 50 young musicians, poets and philosophers from Russia and other countries. “This is further proof that Russian culture is not isolated and that attempts by Western political elites to ‘cancel’ it over the past four years have not been successful,” he said. “This is exactly why we decided to create a project in which people will hear the polyphony of multilingual cultures – cultures that do not consider themselves marginalized compared to the West.”
Schwedkoy explained that one of the themes of the exhibition, titled “Trees Rooted in the Sky,” will revolve around the idea that “politics exist in a temporal dimension, while culture communicates in an eternal dimension.” “In our new project, eternity triumphs over temporal concerns, culture over politics… Unfortunately, not everyone understands this.”
Inside the pavilion, musicians from all over Russia and other countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Mali and Mexico will take part in the “Music Festival”. The organizers of the Russian Pavilion tell us that its purpose is to highlight “the creative potential of peripheral areas and practices, showcasing traditions, musical languages and experimental approaches that are far away from the main cultural centers, but that preserve authentic and innovative expressions for this very reason” art news. “Through the intersection of different cultures, the project aims to create a space for dialogue and exchange where local roots intertwine with global perspectives, generating new artistic perspectives and enhancing international social awareness.”
“Various sanctions may be enacted, Western official institutions may be prohibited from cooperating with us, but no one can deprive Russian art of its right to self-expression,” Shvedkoi added. He said he believed the Biennale’s leadership had shown it was “ready to seek compromises (to ensure that the pavilions remain open) and naturally does not want to jeopardize the work of the entire Venice Biennale.”
He mentioned the participation of Russian artists in international cultural events in Europe and the United States, including the animator Konstantin Bronzit, who was nominated for this year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. “That is why the leadership of the Venice Biennale is working hard to find a way out of the difficulties faced by the Russian pavilion,” he said. “That’s why the curators of the project want to collaborate with colleagues from different parts of the world to present Russian art.”
art news Comments were sought from the Venice Biennale on the reopening of the Russian pavilion. “As a general premise, the Venice Biennale does not determine national participation; countries choose their own participation. I would like to inform you that the Venice Biennale is finalizing all elements of the list, which will be announced on March 4,” Cristiana Costanzo, head of press and media relations at the Biennale, wrote in an email.
Asked if he expected people to protest Russia’s decision to reopen pavilions, Shvedkoi said, “Any kind of provocation against Russian cultural figures at the Venice Biennale is possible, but I hope common sense will prevail.”
He continued: “I believe that this is a victory not only for the Russian side, but for all participating countries. Russian cultural people are open to cooperation – not only now, but also in the future.”
It is not unusual for geopolitics to influence the status of national pavilions in Venice, but last year Russia was the only country not to participate due to ongoing military conflicts. Despite the outbreak of war in Gaza, Israel has been able to move forward with construction of the 2024 pavilion; however, the pavilion’s artists and curators announced during the preview that they would not open the exhibition until “a ceasefire and a hostage release agreement are reached” in the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The Israel pavilion is scheduled to open in May, but it is being moved from the country’s permanent building in Giardini to a location in the Armory. Two years ago, it was closed to the public due to protests on the opening day of the Biennale. Belu-Simion Fainaru, a sculptor representing Israel this year, said art news The move to the Armory was necessary because Giardini’s Israel Pavilion is currently under construction.
