"“Move forward, be bold and develop and bring your projects to fruition freely,” Buttafuoco said, quoting the words of Italian president Sergio Mattarella at a separate cinema award ceremony in Rome a day earlier. “If the Biennale started selecting works [on the basis of] passports, it would cease to be what it has always been: the place where the world comes together.”"
"Buttafuoco added: “Ukraine and Russia are represented at the Biennale Gardens today”. Russia's return to the world's oldest and most prestigious art biennial this year, for the first time since is full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has prompted outrage from Italy's government, with Alessandroi Guili, the culture minister, last week sending inspectors to determine what role the Biennale's management played and whether this amounted to a breach of sanctions."
"In seven pages of minutes detailing interviews conducted by culture ministey officials, Biennale representatives claimed Russia had not been formally invited to the event, noting that decisions about whether to participate are made by the countries themselves; that compliance with international sanctions on Russia had been evaluated “where possible based on the available information”; and that the Biennale was considering how to respond to a request last week by the lawyers of Belu Simon Fairanu, the artist representing Israel, to pay damages for “discrimination” follow"
Venice Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco criticized critics for alleged narcissism and censorship. He urged bold development and free realization of projects, warning that selecting works based on passports would end the Biennale’s role as a place where the world comes together. He stated that Ukraine and Russia are represented in the Biennale Gardens. The comments came amid controversy over Russia and Israel’s participation. Italy’s culture ministry sent inspectors to assess whether the Biennale’s management violated sanctions after Russia’s return in 2024. Minutes from interviews reported that Russia was not formally invited, that sanctions compliance was evaluated where possible using available information, and that the Biennale was considering a request by lawyers for an Israeli artist to seek damages for discrimination.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]