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Russian Pavilion at Venice Biennale Occupied by Protesters

A group of Ukrainian activists last week occupied the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in a protest against Russia’s annexation of Crimea, reports Sarah Cascone at Artnet. The group, called On Vacation, handed out uniforms to Biennale visitors, encouraging them to occupy various national pavilions, take a picture of themselves, and then post it on social media using the hashtag #onvacation which entered them into a drawing for a free vacation.

A statement on the group’s website said “the project offers an entirely genuine engagement in a well-known structure—the free vacation sweepstakes, but it also positions this engagement in a conflict that is constantly denied by the occupying power.” The contest winner will get a four-day stay at Crimea’s seaside town of Balaklava, and the drawing will take place on June 9. This protest occurred on the same day as the previously reported occupation of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.

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