Brussels pulls €2m from Venice Biennale as Russia row heads to appeal

The European Commission has withdrawn a €2 million grant from La Biennale di Venezia, and the affair now belongs to lawyers as much as curators. What began as a dispute over a Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale has turned into another argument about who gets to define European cultural values, and at whose expense.

The decision was formalised by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, Eacea, after a legal assessment and on the Commission’s recommendation. Brussels says events financed with Union money must promote democratic values, dialogue, diversity and freedom of expression, and that these principles are not upheld in today’s Russia. That is the official basis for ending the contribution.

The trigger is Russia’s return to the Venice Biennale for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022. The Russian pavilion, owned by the Russian state, is showing the performance and musical project The Tree Is Rooted in the Sky, created by around fifty artists selected by the Moscow authorities. The pavilion itself has remained closed to the public, while the installation has been visible from outside on a large screen.

The decision drew protests from Ukraine and from a number of international artists, curators and cultural professionals. They accused Moscow of using the Biennale as a vehicle for cultural propaganda and hybrid warfare. Kyiv also questioned alleged links between the pavilion’s curator and the Russian arms industry. Brussels had already warned the foundation in recent months that this choice could put European funding at risk, and after finding the explanations insufficient, it went ahead with the withdrawal.

La Biennale di Venezia says it will appeal. In a statement, the foundation said the decision had been signalled well in advance and that it is ready to defend its position before the competent bodies. It also stressed that the EU grant did not finance the art exhibition at the centre of the controversy, but activities in the Cinema Sector, especially Biennale College and the Venice Production Bridge. According to the foundation, the grant supported work unrelated to Russia’s participation in Biennale Arte and will not materially affect the budget, the accounts or the scheduled programme.

The Italian government reacted quickly. Deputy culture minister Lucia Borgonzoni backed the appeal and said the Eacea reasoning did not set out the elements that would justify a decision of this scale. Luca Zaia, the president of the Veneto region, also criticised the cut and called it unacceptable, arguing that artists should not be treated as soldiers of their governments and that culture should remain a space for exchange even in times of international crisis.

The case now moves onto legal ground. Brussels will argue that EU money must remain aligned with the Union’s stated values, while La Biennale will argue that film funding cannot be treated as punishment for a separate pavilion. For an institution that depends on European money and political goodwill, that is hardly a trivial distinction. The bill is €2 million, but the larger issue is whether Brussels wants to police culture by principle or by proximity.

Written by Christiane Hofreiter christiane.hofreiter@alpineweekly.com