Apparently Neither Barbican Director Devyani Saltzman Nor Her City Of London Council Bosses Realised The Venice Biennale Is Now Controlled By The Italian Far-Right

Back in February we reported on the outrage around the announcement that Devyani Saltzman would be stepping down from her role as Director for Arts at the Barbican Centre at the end of this month. But while still in post she visited this year’s Venice Biennale. Many readers of this blog will be aware of the protests and turmoil at the Biennale, including the resignation of its jury, mainly triggered by the inclusion of Israel and Russia. However, while global coverage of these protests and scandals has been focussed on principled opposition of genocide in Palestine and Ukraine, the paucity of Italian artists in the current iteration of Venice Biennale seems to reflect the fact that they understand that the event is being played for its soft power potential by Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia government and its fascist friends. The current president of the Venice Biennale, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, is a far-right ideologue who aligns himself and his cultural activities with…