Open letter: for support and solidarity with Ukraine

To:

La Biennale di Venezia

Attn: President Roberto Cicutto

Board members: Vice-President Luigi Brugnaro, Luca Zaia, Claudia Ferrazzi

Auditors’ committee: President Jair Lorenco, Stefania Bortoletti, Anna Maria Como, [substitute] Debora Gobbini

Director General: Andrea Del Mercato

Curator: Cecilia Alemani

The undersigned Commissioners, Curators and Artists of National Pavilions at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia express our joint support for democratic values, peace and freedom. Art has always stood in opposition to darkness and the evil powers in this world and should remain a terrain in which difficult questions and issues are spoken about, where everyone is invited to share their opinions and worldviews in order to create a better, more inclusive present, and to pave a way to a brighter future.

We cannot stand silently, however, facing the Russian invasion of the free and sovereign country of Ukraine. The Russian government is brutalizing millions of Ukraine’s innocent people. It is our duty to do what we can to protect democratic values and peace in Europe and the world. We support artists Kirill Savchenkov and Alexandra Sukhareva and the artistic team of the Russian Pavilion, who, reacting to the situation, decided to resign and cancel their pavilion project. And we call la Biennale di Venezia to officially ban the Russian national participation. It would be unimaginable and unacceptable at this dark hour for Russia to be officially represented at the event; that is all about human rights and peaceful dialogues.

We ask the organizers of La Biennale and the international art community to show support and solidarity in any possible way with Ukraine. And with those people in Russia who are brave enough to stand against their oppressor who has stripped many basic human rights from their country.

We are sending the strongest support to our dear Ukrainian colleagues and friends and remain ready to help them in this terrible situation. Moreover, we appreciate acts of support by those Russian citizens prepared to condemn the war.

Neringa Bumblienė, Curator of the Pavilion of Lithuania

Kęstutis Kuizinas, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Lithuania

Robertas Narkus, Artist, the Pavilion of Lithuania

Maria Arusoo, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Estonia

Corina L. Apostol, Curator of the Pavilion of Estonia

Kristina Norman, Artist, the Pavilion of Estonia

Solvita Krese, Commissioner/Curator of the Pavilion of Latvia

Andra Silapetere, Curator of the Pavilion of Latvia

Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Artist of the Pavilion of Poland

Wojciech Szymański, Curator of the Pavilion of Poland

Joanna Warsza, Curator of the Pavilion of Poland

Ewa Mielczarek, Producer of the Pavilion of Poland

Joanna Waśko, Deputy Commissioner of the Pavilion of Poland

Hanna Wróblewska, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Poland (till end of 2021)

Janusz Janowski, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Poland (from 2022)

Raija Koli, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Finland

Auður Jörundsdóttir, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Iceland

Mónica Bello, Curator of the Pavilion of Iceland

Eelco van der Lingen, Commissioner of the Pavilion of the Netherlands

Anette Østerby, Head of Visual Arts, the Pavilion of Denmark

Tine Vindfeld, Project Manager, the Pavilion of Denmark

Nevena Tudor Perković, Ministry of Culture and Media, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Croatia

Elena Filipovic, Curator of the Croatian Pavilion

Tomo Savic-Gecan, Artist of the Pavilion of Croatia

Olga Majcen Linn, Organizer and Producer of the Pavilion of Croatia

Tereza Teklić, Organizer and Producer of the Pavilion of Croatia

Olga Okunev, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Austria

Karola Kraus, Curator of the Pavilion of Austria

Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Switzerland

Eugenio Viola, Curator of the Pavilion of Italy

Mariam Natroshvili and Detu Jincharadze, Artists, the Pavilion of Georgia

Magda Guruli, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Georgia

Américo Rodrigues, Commissioner of the Pavilion of Portugal

João Mourão and Luís Silva, Curators of the Pavilion of Portugal

Pedro Neves Marques, Artist, the Pavilion of Portugal