Kazakhstan’s ministry removes Kadyrkhanova’s work from the Venice Biennale

Читайте этот материал на русском. The Museo Storico Navale di Venezia did not demand the removal of artist Asel Kadyrkhanova’s work from the Kazakhstan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, contrary to what Kazakhstan’s ministry of culture had said before.Last week, ahead of the exhibition’s opening, the work “Machine” by Kazakhstani artist Asel Kadyrkhanova was removed from the Kazakhstan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale – despite being earlier displayed in promotional materials.The ministry of culture, which commissioned the exhibition, explained the removal referring to the agreement with the Museo Storico Navale di Venezia and the clause by which the artwork must not be of a political, ideological, or other nature.Kadyrkhanova’s work deals with the Red Terror and Stalinist repressions. D’Uva, the company that manages the museum in Italy’s northeastern city, told Vlast in a written response that it disagreed with the ministry’s earlier statement that the removal of the work was “a violation of the agreement with the museum.”