Latvian artists launch protest against Russia's participation in Venice Biennale

Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, together with Latvia's National Pavilion, has launched a protest campaign against Russia's participation in the Venice Biennale. The initiative is called Death in Venice and will run throughout the biennale until 22 November.

Source: Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art on social media

Details: The team behind the Latvian pavilion Untamed Assembly: Backstage of Utopia called on visitors to Venice to attend the biennale wearing a themed symbol. Artist Krišs Salmanis created a design specifically for the campaign and made it free to use. It can be downloaded free of charge from the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art's website and printed on clothing or other materials.

In the design, the biennale's logo was transformed into the image of the Kremlin wall, while the red colour was interpreted by the artist as a symbol of blood and violence. The creators of the campaign stressed that institutional "neutrality" effectively amounts to support for aggression.

Quote: "In this context, the red colour in the biennale's emblem takes on a completely different meaning – it is reminiscent of blood, violence and the price paid by those whose reality this institutional 'neutrality' chooses to ignore."

More details: The title Death in Venice is a direct reference to Thomas Mann's novella of the same name. The story dealt with the decline of an era and its values, as well as the city authorities' attempt to conceal real problems.

Participants in the campaign are being asked to share photos and videos on social media using the hashtags #biennalearte2026 and #deathinvenice2026, as well as tagging the Latvian Pavilion and the Centre for Contemporary Art. Organisers of the campaign plan to distribute these materials as part of a shared stance by visitors and artists.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!