Russia Reopens National Pavilion at 2026 Venice Art Biennale
On May 9, Russia will reinstate its national pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale in 2026, as announced by Mikhail Shvydkoy, the country's representative for international cultural exchanges. The pavilion has remained empty since 2022, when artists Kirill Savchenkov, Alexandra Sukhareva, and curator Raimundas Malašauskas opted out following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In 2024, the space was allocated to Bolivia. The upcoming exhibition, "The Tree is Rooted in the Sky," will showcase more than 50 emerging artists from Russia, Brazil, Mali, Mexico, and Argentina, with Anastasiia Karneeva serving as the commissioner. Russia's participation was officially confirmed by the Biennale on March 4, 2026, featuring artists like Lizaveta Anshina and Ekaterina Antonenko among others.
Key facts
- Russia reopens its national pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale after a four-year absence.
- The Biennale opens on May 9, 2026.
- The pavilion was empty in 2022 after artists withdrew over the Ukraine invasion; in 2024 it was lent to Bolivia.
- Mikhail Shvydkoy, Russia's delegate for international cultural exchanges, confirmed the return.
- The exhibition is titled 'The Tree is Rooted in the Sky' and involves over 50 participants from Russia and other countries.
- Participating countries include Brazil, Mali, Mexico, and Argentina.
- The Biennale officially confirmed Russia's participation on March 4, 2026.
- Commissioner Anastasiia Karneeva is the daughter of a Rostec deputy CEO; she also served as commissioner for the canceled 2022 pavilion.
Entities
Artists
- Kirill Savchenkov
- Alexandra Sukhareva
- Raimundas Malašauskas
- Lizaveta Anshina
- Ekaterina Antonenko
- Vera Bazilevskikh
- Antonio Buonuario
- Serafim Chaikin
- DJ Diaki
- Marco Dinelli
- Timofey Dudarenko
- Faina
- Zhanna Gefling
- Oleg Gudachev
- Atosigado y Herrica
- Sofya Ivanishkina
- Jaijiu
- JLZ
- Tatiana Khalbaeva
- Alexey Khovalyg
- Daria Khrisanova
- Nikita Korolev
- Oksana Kuznetsova
- Roman Malyavkin
- Petr Musoev
- Artem Nikolaev
- Veronika Okuneva
- Valerie Oleynik
- Georgy Orlov-Davydovsky
- Yaroslav Paradovsky
- Bogdan Petrenko
- Alexey Retinsky
- Ekaterina Rostovtseva
- Antonina Sergeeva
- Mikhail Spasskii
- Lukas Sukharev
- Alexey Sysoev
- Olga Talysheva
- Ilya Tatakov
- Alexey Tegin
- Maria Vinogradova
Institutions
- Venice Biennale
- ARTnews
- Rostec
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Giardini
- Russia
- Brazil
- Mali
- Mexico
- Argentina