On the 6th (local time), a smoke bomb suddenly went off at the Giardini exhibition grounds in Venice, Italy, where the 61st Venice Biennale is being held. The pink haze settled over the Russian Pavilion. Then, people wearing pink headscarves shouted “No Russia.” Among the crowd were people who unfurled Ukrainian flags.

A commotion also broke out the same day at the Arsenale venue. In front of the Israeli Pavilion, hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists blocked the entrance and held banners, protesting with the message “Remove the ‘Genocide Pavilion’ (No Genocide Pavillion).” Even after the demonstration subsided, Italian carabinieri remained in position in front of the Israeli Pavilion.

The fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war, the Gaza war now under a truce, and the U.S.-Iran war that broke out this year is also reaching the Venice Biennale. As Russia, which triggered the war in Ukraine, and Israel, which started the wars in Gaza and with Iran, return to the Biennale, what had been anticipated has become reality.

The Russian and Israeli national pavilions did not open at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. However, after the Russian and Israeli governments stated their intention to participate in the national pavilions this year and the Biennale Foundation accepted this, controversy began.

On the 23rd of last month, five members of the Biennale jury announced that countries whose leaders have been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity would be excluded from the awards, and a week later they expressed their intention to resign. The jury did not mention specific countries. However, given that Russia and Israel have each become subjects of ICC investigations over the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza, respectively, it has been interpreted as referring to those countries.

As a result, the awards ceremony that had been scheduled to take place alongside the opening ceremony on the 9th was also postponed to November 22, the closing day. Winners will be decided by visitor voting rather than by jury deliberation.

Confronted with public criticism, Russia planned to open its national pavilion only until the 8th, the day before the official opening, and from the 9th to show only a performance video in front of the Russian Pavilion, but on the 6th, during the advance opening period, it faced intense resistance.

Meanwhile, Iran, drawn into war with the United States, notified the Biennale Foundation on the 4th that it would not participate. Iran had until now disclosed only the overall commissioner for its national pavilion and had not provided information such as the participating artists or the exhibition theme. It is presumed that the lingering impact of the war with the United States was the cause.