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The Latest Breaking News from the Venice Biennale

This year’s Venice Biennale marks a major shift in European cultural politics

I was texting a museum director friend in Asia recently. We were discussing whether a trip to this year’s “artworld Olympics”, the Venice Biennale, justified the carbon release.

The Conversation

OPINION - The posturing over the inclusion of Russia and Israel is a betrayal of Venice’s vision

It feels wrong to cancel artists because you disapprove of what their countries are up to, writes Melanie McDonagh

Evening Standard

EU countries back suspension of funding for the Venice Biennale over Russian participation

Fourteen out of 27 EU member states criticised the reopening of the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, which sparked a fierce controversy in Italy, as Brussels called for a suspension of funding.

Euronews

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At the Venice Biennale I saw anger at Russia and Israel – and its leadership pretending everything was fine

The festival can often make you queasy, as geopolitics are played out through the proxy of art. This year it feels on the verge of collapsing in on itself, says Charlotte Higgins, the Guardian’s chief culture writer

The Guardian - UK

Khaled Sabsabi is finally at the Venice Biennale: ‘Being here is already a win’

Australia’s representative at the world’s biggest art show has not one but two works on show – a major achievement and happy ending to a year of controversy and protest

The Guardian - AU

An outsider artist takes the world's biggest stage with the US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

U.S. artist Alma Allen had just months to prepare his exhibition for the Venice Biennale after a fraught selection process came down to the wire

The Independent UK

What Iran’s absence from the Venice Biennale reveals about art and politics

Just days before the opening of the 2026 Venice Biennale, organisers announced that Iran would no longer participate.

The Conversation

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From Eurovision to the Venice Biennale, culture contests are being overshadowed by politics

The Venice Biennale, Eurovision and Cannes are framed as artists representing their nations. But in a fractured world national identity seems increasingly futile

The Guardian - UK

Pussy Riot stage protest blocking access to Russian pavilion at Venice Biennale

Members of punk group Pussy Riot and Ukraine's FEMEN organization have staged a protest at the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale

The Independent UK

Venice Biennale previews in chaos after jury quits over Israel and Russia’s participation

The Venice Biennale has begun previewing its 61st edition only days after the art show's jury resigned in protest

The Independent UK

Lubaina Himid’s British pavilion at the Venice Biennale review – alienation in a green and pleasant land

Amid a calming soundtrack of lapping waves and cooing birds, workers in brightly coloured paintings share glances that say: ‘What the hell are we doing here?’ But isn’t there more to not belonging than this show suggests?

The Guardian - UK

‘We put our heads above the parapet’: Lubaina Himid on winning her 40-year battle to storm the Venice Biennale

In the 1980s, she had to show her work in a corridor by the ICA’s toilet. Now she’s representing Britain at the ‘art Olympics’. So is the artist feeling a bit establishment? Quite the reverse

The Guardian - UK

The Venice Biennale jury has resigned, proving art institutions cannot remain separate from politics

The Venice Biennale is the most prestigious recurring event in contemporary art, often described as the Olympics of the art world.

The Conversation

‘It has become a symbol of hope’: the epic journey of Ukraine’s origami deer to the Venice biennale

As cities emptied on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion, artist Zhanna Kadyrova’s defiant concrete sculpture began its odyssey to this year’s festival

The Guardian - UK

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The Guardian - UK

‘The doorbell went at 5am. Six masked men were outside’: Belarus Free Theatre bring totalitarian terror to the Venice Biennale

They’ve been imprisoned, tortured and spied upon. Now dissidents from Europe’s last dictatorship are bringing the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes of brutal repression to the world’s biggest festival of art

Euronews

Reopening of the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale: EU threatens to cut funding

In a letter addressed to the president of the Venice Biennale, the European Commission has threatened to freeze €2 million to the cultural institution in response to the reopening of the Russian pavilion.

Euronews

MEPs urge Commission leaders to stop Russia from returning to the Venice Biennale

MEPs have urged European Commission leaders to prevent Russia from participating in the Venice Biennale. The move has been backed by Ukraine's foreign policy chief who says "Russia rejects all proposals to end the war and rejects the dialogue that the organizers of the exhibition claim."

Euronews

The lost sea: Venice Biennale pavilion set to explore Aral Sea environmental disaster

Once the world’s fourth-largest inland sea, the Aral has lost more than 90% of its volume since the 1960s and is now, largely a desert. At the Venice Biennale, a national pavilion will revisit the environmental disaster through art, folklore and collective memory.

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The Guardian - AU

After a turbulent year, Australia’s Khaled Sabsabi will present two works at the Venice Biennale

The artist, who was controversially revoked and then reinstated by his government, is planning a ‘nurturing experience’ to bring people together

Euronews

Tove, Frida and Schiaparelli: The 10 unmissable exhibitions and art events of 2026

Next year brings blockbuster shows from the Venice Biennale to a Frida Kahlo retrospective, plus the Middle East's most exciting new art fair.

AAP

Little trust in Creative Australia after Venice snafu

Trust in Creative Australia is at an all-time low due to the Venice Biennale controversy, but the decision to reinstate the artistic team may bring healing.

The Conversation

The takeaway from the Venice Biennale saga: the art world faces deep and troubling structural inequality

Creative Australia’s decision earlier this year to rescind the selection of artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as Australia’s 2026 representatives at the Venice Biennale sent shockwaves through the arts sector.

AAP

Restore Venice artist's name or be sued, says gallerist

Artist Khaled Sabsabi has suffered personally and professionally since Creative Australia rescinded his commission for the Venice Biennale, his gallerist says.

AAP

Ditched art duo drum up cash for Venice project

After Creative Australia rescinded their Biennale commission, Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino are fundraising for an independent artwork in Venice instead.

AAP

Mass letter urges arts minister to act over Venice snub

Protests against the dumping of Australia's art team for the Venice Biennale continue, with hundreds of artists and curators demanding government action.

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