[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2227951799.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n
\n\tLuxembourg\u2019s pavilion for the upcoming Venice Biennale has sparked a political spat at home, after lawmakers questioned both the cost of the project and the nature of the work set to represent the country.<\/p>\n
\n\tAt the center of the debate is La Merde<\/em>, a project by Luxembourg-born artist Aline Bouvy representing the country at the Biennale\u2019s 61st edition. The work, described as a feminist and societal commentary centered on a personification of excrement, has drawn criticism from members of Luxembourg\u2019s right-wing Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR). They say the concept is both provocative and an expensive way to promote the country abroad.<\/p>\n \n\tThe criticism was formally raised in parliament by ADR lawmaker Alexandra Schoos, who questioned the pavilion\u2019s \u20ac540,000 budget and whether it was justified \u201cgiven the current budget situation, social challenges, and tax burden,\u201d reported Paper Jam<\/em>. Schoos also pointed out that the figure is far higher than the \u20ac150,000 annual budget for the country\u2019s new cultural observatory.<\/p>\n \n\tIn response, Luxembourg\u2019s culture minister \u00c9ric Thill defended both the project and its funding. He argued that artistic freedom is a core principle of democratic societies.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe role of the state is not to filter works in the name of good taste,\u201d Thill said, adding that art should challenge audiences rather than simply please them. He said the public debate surrounding the project proves that it is doing its job.<\/p>\n \n\tThill then pushed back on the suggestion that the budget was too high. According to the ministry, costs for Luxembourg\u2019s participation in the biennale have been rising steadily in recent years: \u20ac418,600 for the architecture edition in 2023, \u20ac494,100 for the art edition in 2024, and \u20ac521,400 in 2025. The latest figure reflects rising production, shipping, and logistical costs that have impacted large international exhibitions across the board.<\/p>\n \n\tMost of the budget is reportedly going toward practical expenses. Roughly two-thirds covers production, transport, installation, and travel for the team involved in the project. Organizing the pavilion over the event\u2019s seven-month run accounts for another 8 percent, while communications take 12 percent. Artist fees and the official opening each account for about 7 percent.<\/p>\n \n\tThill\u00a0 said that Luxembourg\u2019s spending also sits broadly in line with other countries participating in the biennale. In 2024, Switzerland allocated about 550,000 Swiss francs for its pavilion, Germany spent roughly \u20ac650,000, Austria \u20ac660,000, and Italy around \u20ac1.2 million.<\/p>\n \n\tHe also pointed to Bouvy\u2019s credentials, noting that she has exhibited widely and that her work is held in several institutional collections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/news\/luxembourgs-culture-minister-defends-countrys-venice-biennale-budget-after-critics-say-its-too-high-1234777024\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2227951799.jpg?w=1024″] Luxembourg\u2019s pavilion for the upcoming Venice Biennale has sparked a political spat at home, after lawmakers questioned both the cost of the project and the nature of the work set to represent the country. At the center of the debate is La Merde, a project by Luxembourg-born artist Aline Bouvy representing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-1823948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1823948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1823948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1823948\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1823948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1823948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1823948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}