The Venice Art Biennale, held every two years, has long maintained that art transcends politics, but the 2026 edition has become a flashpoint for geopolitical tensions due to Russia's return after its invasion of Ukraine, alongside the participation of Israel and the United States. Dubbed the "Olympics of the art world," the event features state-sponsored national pavilions that inevitably entangle global politics. This year's Biennale, running from May 9 to November 22, includes 100 national participants, with seven countries—Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Vietnam—making their debut.
The main international exhibition, titled "In Minor Keys," was curated by the late Cameroonian-born artistic director Koyo Kouoh, who died of cancer in May 2025 at age 57. Kouoh, the first African woman to curate the prestigious show, had developed her project before her sudden death, and the Biennale is posthumously executing her vision, featuring 111 invited participants. The exhibition focuses on marginal or overlooked voices, with Kouoh defining a restorative form of resistance that calls for attentive listening amid present chaos. In her introductory text, she wrote, "The minor keys refuse orchestral bombast and goose-step military marches and come alive in the quiet tones, the lower frequencies, the hums, the consolations of poetry."
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian artists and curators voluntarily withdrew from the Biennale. Now, Russia's return in 2026 has triggered friction between Italian institutions and the European Union, with deep disagreements even within Italy's far-right government. The European Commission issued a formal warning to the Biennale's president, demanding a reconsideration of Russia's participation and threatening to suspend €2 million ($2.3 million) in funding. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reportedly opposed Moscow's presence, but Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini allegedly described the EU's threats as "vulgar blackmail" against "one of the most important and free cultural bodies in the world." Venice's mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, said in March that Russia's pavilion would be shut down if it engaged in propaganda but emphasized the Biennale should remain a forum for dialogue.
Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, president of the Biennale Foundation, insists on keeping the event "open to everyone. I close to no one," stating, "There will be Russia, Iran, Israel. There will be Ukraine and Belarus. Everyone." The Russian pavilion's commissioner, Anastasia Karneeva, is the daughter of Nikolai Volobuev, a former FSB general and current deputy CEO of state-owned defense contractor Rostec. Pussy Riot's Nadezhda Tolokonnikova condemned the Russian show, telling DW, "Participating in the Biennale with an apolitical program is an attempt to polish Russia's image and make the world forget the victims of Russian terror." She suggested the Italian government replace Putin's representatives with works by Russian political prisoners "rotting in penal colonies because they spoke out against Russia's criminal war in Ukraine." The feminist art group plans a protest performance at the Biennale.
South African contemporary artist Gabrielle Goliath was selected to represent her country but was blocked from the pavilion after refusing edits requested by Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, who described her work—which included a tribute to Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada, killed in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023—as "highly divisive." With no replacement nominated, the South African pavilion will remain empty, though a video installation of Goliath's project will be shown at a non-Biennale venue in Venice; Goliath is suing the minister. Similarly, Australia faced backlash after dropping commissioned artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino due to political concerns, with right-wing politicians accusing Sabsabi of antisemitism. After calls for boycotts and an independent review, the decision was reversed.
Nearly 200 artists, curators, and workers participating in the 2026 Biennale have signed a letter by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) calling for Israel to be banned. A second letter, signed by over 70 artists in the main exhibition, expands the call to exclude all "current regimes committing war crimes," including Russia and the US. Critics also note that the Biennale is providing Israel space in the Arsenale, the central venue for Kouoh's exhibition, as its Giardini pavilion is under renovation. Romanian-born sculptor Belu-Simion Fainaru, based in Haifa, plans to participate, stating, "As an artist, I do not support cultural boycotts. I believe in dialogue and exchange, especially in challenging times."
At the 2024 Biennale, artist Ruth Patir closed the Israeli pavilion on opening day, vowing to reopen only upon a Gaza ceasefire. Meanwhile, there has never been a Palestinian national pavilion, as only countries officially recognized by Italy can participate; a side exhibition, "Gaza — No Words," will run concurrently. Less controversially, Germany's exhibition, "Ruin," draws from research on the GDR and post-reunification transformation. German installation artist Henrike Naumann, who died of cancer in February at age 41, completed her contribution pre-death, and the show includes works by Vietnamese-born Berlin artist Sung Tieu. The Vatican's exhibition, "The Ear is the Eye of the Soul," features sonic compositions inspired by 12th-century Saint Hildegard of Bingen, with artists like Brian Eno, Patti Smith, and FKA Twigs.
Source: www.dw.com