VENICE: World conflict is looming large over the Venice Biennale this year with the simultaneous presence of Russia, Ukraine, Israel and the Palestinians, with one participant described the mix as akin to “inviting a serial killer to a dinner” among friends.

In the gardens where the world’s largest contemporary art event opens to the public on Saturday, the Russian pavilion stands just a few paces from a deer sculpture that was rescued from the Ukrainian front lines.

Russia’s return to the Biennale — from which it had been absent since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine — has sparked an international outcry since being announced in early March.

“Having them here in the Biennale is like inviting a serial killer to a dinner with your friends,” Ukrainian Culture Minister Tetiana Berejna said. Those who argue that war should not make a difference when it comes to art and that all should be welcome at the prestigious festival are “absolutely wrong,” Berejna said, adding that 346 Ukrainian artists have been killed by Russia since the war began. “When Russia comes to our country, they destroy our libraries, they burn our books, they destroy our museums,” she said. “Culture is targeted during this war.” Besides Russia and Ukraine, other countries involved in conflicts are represented in Venice, including the United States and Israel, which attacked Iran in late February. Tehran, originally scheduled to participate, ultimately decided not to attend.

This year, Israel has a pavilion at the Arsenale, a former shipyard that serves as additional exhibition space at the Biennale, not far from Ukraine’s.

The Palestinians, whose state is not recognised by Italy, do not have their own pavilion but are represented by an exhibition dedicated to Gaza at the Palazzo Mora, titled Gaza — No Words — See the Exhibit.

“There’s really no way to describe the horror that was inflicted upon the Palestinians in Gaza, and I don’t think we would want to be in the same place as the people who did that,” said the exhibition’s curator, Faisal Saleh, founder of the Palestine Museum in the US state of Connecticut.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2026