Pussy Riot and Femen stormed the Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale on May 6, with police on the premises tackling members from the feminist protest groups who were able to make it inside the building. According to a joint press release, 50 Pussy Riot members in pink ski masks performed the song “Disobey,” which condemns “f—king fascist bastards” and “killers of children and mothers.” Femen members rushed forward blue and yellow smoke bombs, carrying Ukrainian flags and shouting chants. It was the first time the Russian and Ukrainian feminist groups joined forces for a public protest, they said. Russia’s return to the Venice Biennale caused an international uproar from the moment the news broke, as the pavilion is funded by the Kremlin and its commissioner, Anastasia Karneeva, is linked to Russia’s military industrial complex. In the weeks leading up to the start of the major international art event, Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova publicly called on Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, the head of the Venice Biennale, to represent the art of Russian political prisoners instead. “While Pietrangelo Buttafuoco greets his Russian guests with champagne, drones and ballistic missiles fall in Ukraine, thousands of POWs and political prisoners sit in cold jail cells. Their lives are not abstraction, their lives are worth considering – they will not be forgotten and erased as the Kremlin’s stooges hope to achieve,” Tolokonnikova said in the joint press release.
via kyivindependent: Pussy Riot, Femen storm Russian pavilion at Venice
siehe auch: Pussy Riot protest at Venice Biennale forces Russian pavilion to briefly close Demonstrators, angered by Russia’s inclusion at arts festival, shouted ‘Curated by Putin, dead bodies included’. The Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale was forced temporarily to shut its doors on the second day of the preview after the activist group Pussy Riot staged a chaotic protest against the country’s inclusion in the art festival. Wearing pink balaclavas, the protesters ran towards the Russian pavilion where they gathered outside and lit pink, blue and yellow flares while playing punk music and shouting slogans, including “Blood is Russia’s Art”. At one stage the group of about 40 activists, including members of the feminist activist group Femen, attempted to enter the Russian pavilion but were pushed back by police, who lined the entrance. Some members had slogans, such as “Curated by Putin, dead bodies included”, “Russia kills, biennale exhibits” and “Russian art, Ukrainian blood” written on their bodies. A statue outside the pavilion was wrapped in a Ukrainian flag. Nadya Tolokonnikova, a founding member of Pussy Riot, said she had been horrified by the sight of people partying at the Russian pavilion during the first day, where crates of prosecco were loaded into the space, which was also playing loud techno music. Tolokonnikova, who led the protest, said: “It’s weird to me that Europe keeps saying that Ukraine is a shield for the entire European continent but it opens its doors time and time again to Russian propaganda. It’s heartbreaking for me.”, Pussy Riot und Femen protestieren gegen russischen Pavillon in Venedig Schon vor der offiziellen Eröffnung gibt es Streit über die Biennale in Venedig. Nun rebellieren Aktivistinnen um die Performancegruppe Pussy Riot gegen die Rückkehr Russlands zu der Kunstausstellung. Am Samstag wird die diesjährige Kunstbiennale von Venedig erst offiziell eröffnet. Doch schon während der Vorbesichtigungstage für die Fachwelt herrscht Unruhe um die renommierte Ausstellung. Am Mittwochmorgen protestierten Aktivistinnen aus den Performancegruppen Pussy Riot und Femen dagegen, dass Russland diesmal wieder seinen Pavillon bespielt. Bald nach Öffnung des Geländes um elf Uhr versammelten sich mit lila Mützen maskierte Personen vor dem Ausstellungsgebäude Russlands in den Giardini. Punkrock von Pussy Riot erklang, lila bengalische Feuer wurden gezündet. Die Protestierenden skandierten Slogans wie »War is Russia’s art«, »Art for show, graves below« oder auch »Fuck Russia«. Ähnliche Slogans hatten sich auch Aktivistinnen der Gruppe Femen auf ihre nackten Oberkörper geschrieben und präsentierten sie an dem regnerischen Vormittag, während sie ukrainische Flaggen hochhielten. Aus dem russischen Pavillion kam keine erkennbare Reaktion, die Biennale-Organisation ließ die Protestierenden gewähren.
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