The Belarus Free Theatre has opened an exhibition titled “Official. Unofficial. Belarus.” at La Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista di Venezia, marking Belarus's first presence at the Venice Biennale in six years and its first appearance not as a state but as a self-governing cultural body. Curated by Daniella Kaliada, the show features Belarusian artists working across painting, installations, and large-scale sculptures, aiming to make the experience of living under authoritarianism viscerally legible through works that explore surveillance, repression, and bodily experience.
This exhibition matters because it represents a significant cultural counter to President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, which has brutally cracked down on pro-democracy protesters since 2020. By staging the show in exile, the Belarus Free Theatre uses visual art to translate its theatrical activism onto an international stage, offering a warning about the spread of authoritarianism. The blending of religious iconography with surveillance technology in works like "Surveillance Crucifix" and "Confessional of the System" makes the exhibition a powerful commentary on contemporary governance and control, resonating beyond Belarus's borders.