Due anni fa la Russia cedette il suo padiglione in Biennale alla Bolivia. Una testimonianza da dentro
Two years ago, Russia ceded its national pavilion at the Venice Biennale to Bolivia, a move that artist Inés Fontenla experienced firsthand when she was invited by Bolivia to participate in the 2024 edition. Fontenla recounts how the pavilion's organization shifted after Bolivia's 2025 elections, with the curator replaced by the new Minister of Culture just one month before the opening. She realized Russia was using Bolivia as a front to re-enter the Biennale after closing its own pavilion in 2022 in protest of the Ukraine invasion, and she ultimately withdrew from the project to avoid being instrumentalized by a military power.
This matters because it exposes the deep entanglement of art and politics at one of the world's most prestigious cultural events. Fontenla's testimony reveals how nations can exploit artists and pavilions for propaganda, undermining the ideal of art as a free, value-driven space. The situation also highlights ongoing tensions around Russia's presence at the Venice Biennale, raising questions about cultural diplomacy, national representation, and the ethical responsibilities of artists and institutions in times of geopolitical conflict.