MILAN — The European Commission is cutting a 2-million-euro grant to the Venice Biennale over Russia's participation in the 61st contemporary art show, which opens May 9. The Commission informed the Biennale foundation of the funding cut and had previously announced its intention to do so.

The Biennale has 30 days to defend its decision to include Russia for the first time since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Thomas Regnier, a spokesperson for the Commission, said the decision was a direct response to the Biennale's choice to allow the Russian pavilion to participate.

"We are strongly condemning the fact that the Fondazione di Biennale has allowed for the Russian Pavilion to open again," Regnier said.

Russian artists withdrew their participation from the Venice Biennale in 2022. Russia last participated in the International Art Exhibition in 2019. In 2024, Russia lent its permanent pavilion to Bolivia instead of presenting an exhibition of its own.

The Biennale said it does not have the authority to prevent a country from participating. Russia owns the pavilion, which was built in 1914 in the historic Giardini, and was only required to send notification of its request to participate.

The Biennale has previously refused pressure to exclude countries, including Iran and Israel, from participating. The foundation issued a statement explaining its position on inclusion.

"La Biennale di Venezia rejects any form of exclusion or censorship of culture and art. The Biennale, like the city of Venice, continues to be a place of dialogue, openness and artistic freedom, encouraging connections between peoples and cultures, with the constant hope for an end to conflicts and suffering," the foundation said.

The Venice Biennale is the world's oldest contemporary art exhibition. It comprises a main exhibition alongside national pavilions that are curated separately by participating nations. For the 61st edition, 99 nations will present national pavilions, with 29 in the Giardini and the rest in the Arsenale and across the city.