Pietrangelo Buttafuoco says the Biennale “cannot bow down” after Brussels cut funding in response to the foundation allowing Russia to take part in its 2026 art exhibition. The decision by the Biennale is a breach of sanctions linked to the invasion of Ukraine, says EU.
Venice Biennale Foundation President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco showed no sign of backing down on Thursday, days after the European Union announced it was axing €2 million in funding to the foundation over its decision to allow Russia to take part in the 2026 International Art Exhibition.
“We are losing a fellow traveller, but the Biennale certainly cannot bow down,” Buttafuoco said, speaking at the presentation of the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
Buttafuoco framed the decision to keep Russia involved as a matter of institutional principle rather than politics. “We do not engage in politics, we do not pander to the crowd; we are here for international research in the arts,” he said. “By complying with their demands, we would have betrayed the principles of autonomy, freedom of expression, and the pursuit of imagination and creativity that have defined this institution for 131 years.”
Brussels cites democratic values
Explaining the funding cut on Tuesday, a European Commission spokesperson said cultural events funded by European taxpayers’ money should safeguard democratic values and promote open dialogue, diversity, and freedom of expression — values the Commission said are not respected in Russia today.
The move follows an earlier warning from the EU executive, which had written to the Biennale to say that reopening the Russian pavilion, even without allowing public access, could amount to a breach of European sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The Russian exhibit, titled “the tree is rooted in the sky”, remains visible to visitors only from outside, through the building’s windows.
Russia had missed the previous two editions of the Venice Biennale art exhibition following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, having last taken part in 2019. Its return for the 2026 edition has proven contentious well beyond the funding dispute with Brussels. It reignited broader questions about how major international cultural institutions should treat Russian state participation while the war in Ukraine continues.
