Ukrainian Pavilion condemns Russian participation at Venice Biennale amid war

The Ukrainian Pavilion team has issued a formal protest against Russian representation at the 2022 Venice Biennale, calling for Russia's exclusion from the international exhibition. While the Russian Pavilion artists and curator have withdrawn, leaving the space closed, Ukrainian organizers criticize the lack of institutional pressure from art organizations that claim to uphold democratic values. They note the Russian Pavilion building was funded by Ukrainian collector Bohdan Khanenko, whose collection formed the basis for Kyiv's most important museum of Western and Eastern art. The Ukrainian statement describes team members working from bomb shelters while evacuating artworks amid rocket attacks, with the Chernobyl nuclear power plant occupied by Russian troops. They reference eight years of conflict since Crimea's annexation and centuries of cultural appropriation by Russia. Former Russian Pavilion curator Raimundas Malašauskas resigned in solidarity, while Lithuanian and Estonian pavilions initiated an open letter supporting a ban. Ukrainian Pavilion work is currently suspended as team members focus on survival rather than exhibition preparation. The statement concludes with signatures from Pavlo Makov, Maria Lanko, Lizaveta German, and Borys Filonenko.