Italy investigates Venice Biennale over Russian involvement – media

(SeaPRwire) –   The European Union has voiced opposition to the Russian pavilion’s return to the renowned art exhibition

Italian media reported on Wednesday that the country’s Culture Ministry is looking into the organizers of the Venice Biennale after Russia was permitted to participate in the prestigious event once again.

Following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, many Western cultural organizations ended their partnerships with Russia. The Kremlin has criticized these moves, calling them an ineffective attempt to “cancel” Russian heritage.

According to Corriere della Sera, inspectors were sent to the Biennale Foundation to review financial data and documents concerning the planned reopening of the Russian pavilion. Reports also suggest that officials were told to check records related to the Israeli and Iranian pavilions.

The newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano noted that the organizers had already submitted their communications with Russian officials to the Italian Culture Ministry, which found no “irregularities” regarding compliance with anti-Russian sanctions.

The European Commission has denounced the move to allow Russia’s national pavilion to reopen, and Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli has stated he will skip the festival’s May 9 opening. Furthermore, the Biennale jury announced last week that Russia and Israel would not be considered for any awards.

Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, the head of the Biennale Foundation, dismissed the criticism by likening the organization to “the UN of art, from which no nation can be excluded.”

Various Italian politicians, such as Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, have insisted that the world of art should not be influenced by political matters. “I am not for the exclusion of anyone, so I invite the Biennale to go ahead,” Salvini remarked, according to Euronews.