Russia at the Venice Biennale: the EU cuts its €2 million grant to the foundation

Brussels – No more funding for the Venice Biennale. The European Commission has finally followed through on its threats to cut funding in response to the decision to host the Russian pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition which began on 9 May and is scheduled to run until 22 November. “Following the Commission’s assessment and legal recommendation, the European Executive Agency for Education and Culture (EACEA) has decided to suspend the €2 million grant awarded to the Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia,” a spokesperson for the European Commission has announced. 

“Cultural events, funded by European taxpayers’ money, should safeguard democratic values, promote open dialogue, diversity, and freedom of expression, values that are not respected in today’s Russia,” explains the same spokesperson for the European Commission. 

The withdrawal of funding is related to the Biennale’s decision to provide Russia with a space, a decision that has been widely criticised from the outset and is now even more untenable given the ongoing war in Ukraine. The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, had criticised the country’s readmission to the Olympics following attacks on civilian targets. Today (21 July), the European Commission has reaffirmed its anti-Moscow stance and ceased funding the Biennale.