Lithuania to skip Venice Biennale in 2027 due to lack of funds – minister

VILNIUS – Lithuania will not take part in the Venice Biennale in 2027 due to a lack of funding, Culture Minister Vaida Aleknaviciene said on Monday.

"Since the ministry's budget was cut, the focus was simply placed on existing commitments and priorities. Everything is going ahead as planned this year, but for 2027 there is currently no funding earmarked for the Venice Biennale," she told BNS.

Aleknaviciene said the government would seek funding when reviewing next year's budget, but added that other projects currently take precedence.

"Our current priorities in 2027 are the Germany season, as well as Lithuania's presidency of the European Union, and we also have a commitment to open the National Architecture Institute in 2028, for which the main funding falls in 2027," the minister said.

"It is simply a reality where you have to look at which commitments you have to fulfill," she added.

Aleknaviciene said around 200,000 euros would be needed to ensure Lithuania's participation and stressed that skipping the biennale would be a one-off.

"This would be a one-off (non-participation). We are certainly not withdrawing and are not planning never to take part again," she said.

The National Architecture Institute, however, warned that the decision undermines continuity and leaves it unclear whether future participation would be a priority.

"The path toward consistent Lithuanian participation in the biennale was long and required focused institutional work," the institute said in a statement on Monday. "Therefore, the Culture Ministry's decision to temporarily withdraw from participation in the world's most important architecture event raises justified questions about the long-term consequences for the architecture field and the cultural sector."

"The lack of a clear long-term strategy is especially evident when we see that neighboring countries are able to participate, including those with cultural systems strained by war," it added.

The institute called on architects, urban planners, academics and other cultural professionals to publicly state their views, saying participation in the Venice Architecture Biennale is closely linked to national architectural identity and international visibility.

Held every two years since 1980, the Venice Architecture Biennale is one of the world's most prominent contemporary architecture events. Lithuania has taken part since 2016, when it debuted alongside Latvia and Estonia in the Baltic Pavilion.

In 2025, Lithuania presented the national pavilion "Archi/Tree/tecture."