Smoke bombs let off in protest against Russia at Venice Biennale

Venice: Angry protesters have blockaded the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale in a deafening riot against the war in Ukraine, bringing a political confrontation into the glamorous global art fair.

Russian group Pussy Riot joined forces with Ukrainians from Femen to try to storm the building and disrupt the highly contentious national exhibit.

Police tackled activists to the ground to stop them making it into the pavilion, while some of the activists let off smoke bombs with the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag.

Pussy Riot, which began as a performance art group in Russia but had to flee the country, stood in pink ski masks on the Biennale’s main thoroughfare and performed a song condemning “fascist bastards” in Moscow.

The Russian pavilion has been approved by the Biennale organisers despite calls for the country to be suspended from the event due to the war, although it is only expected to be open for a few days.

In a provocative display, the pavilion was the scene of techno dance music and partying in the “pre-opening” stage of the event, which opens to the public on Saturday.

Biennale chairman Pietrangelo Buttafuoco has defied calls to cancel the Russian pavilion, leading to a stand-off with the jury meant to judge works from more than 100 nations.

In an extraordinary step to highlight the political crisis at the event, the jury quit in protest last Thursday and the event will not award its customary “Golden Lion” for best exhibit.

Buttafuoco has instead proposed a “visitor award” to be judged by votes from attendees, but some member countries are weighing up whether to declare they will not take part.

The Biennale chairman told a news conference on Wednesday that it was wrong to try to shut down national pavilions under the pressure of what he called a “laboratory of intolerance” and demands for “censorship” from critics.

“The Biennale is not a court, it is a garden of peace,” he said.

“We cannot shut it down, we cannot boycott as an automatic response. We must discuss. We may disagree, and we do so forcefully.”

The Russian presence has been a greater controversy at this year’s event than the Israeli pavilion, although the jury appeared to take aim at both countries before resigning.

In a move that brought things to a head, the jury said it would not consider pavilions from countries that are accused of war crimes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are both subject to proceedings at the International Court of Justice accusing them of war crimes.

Netanyahu and his government have rejected the ICJ proceedings on the grounds that Israel is defending itself against a terrorist attack by Hamas militants in October 2023 and repeated rocket attacks from Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

More than 200 artists signed an open letter calling for the Israeli pavilion to be closed, while a protest gathered outside the building on Wednesday to demand the same outcome. Several hundred people gathered at the pavilion in support of Palestinians.

Sculptor Belu-Simion Fainaru, who was born in Romania and is an Israeli artist at the Biennale, welcomed the resignation of the jury.

“The fact that, according to the jury’s decision, I shouldn’t participate in the competition because I’m a Jewish artist from Israel, struck me as discriminatory and also racist,” he told German newspaper Judische Allgemeine, as reported by The Times of Israel.

“I know the experience of discrimination and antisemitism from Romania, where I was born,” he said.

“Now I’m glad that I’ll be treated in Venice just like all the other artists.”

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