The nonprofit behind the American presentation has raised $1.4 million against a budget of nearly $2.5 million, leaving no funds to store or ship the sculptures home, according to a New York Times report relayed by ARTnews.
The American Arts Conservancy, the nonprofit behind the US Pavilion at this year's Venice Biennale, is roughly $1 million short of the money needed to cover the exhibition's costs, including dismantling the show and shipping the artworks back to the United States, according to a report in The New York Times relayed by ARTnews. The group has raised $1.4 million against a projected budget of just under $2.5 million. In a letter obtained by the Times, commissioner Jenni Parido wrote that "the final phase of this undertaking has presented financial challenges that I am working tirelessly to resolve." The problem is growing urgent because the Biennale is due to close next month, and the pavilion has no storage facilities while the Guggenheim Foundation, which owns the building, reportedly has no room for the large stone and metal sculptures by Alma Allen.
The funding gap follows an unusually turbulent American showing. The Trump administration scrapped the traditional selection process, which relied on proposals from established arts institutions and an independent review panel. Parido, whose earlier business experience included running an upscale pet boutique in Florida, was chosen after being recommended by Erin Scavino, who heads the State Department's Art in Embassies program. Organizers eventually settled on Allen, an American sculptor based in Mexico, after several artists reportedly declined. Allen told the Times that neither Parido nor the curator, Jeffrey Uslip, visited his studio before the show, and that he and Uslip were no longer speaking by the end of the preview days. He also said he knew nothing about the nonprofit's fundraising.
The organizers had initially presented the modest price tag as a selling point, describing the show as one of the cheapest US pavilions ever mounted; the 2024 presentation cost about $5 million and the 2022 edition nearly $7 million. The State Department provided a $375,000 grant, with private donors expected to cover the rest, and fundraising efforts included a party during Art Basel Miami Beach and a dinner at Mar-a-Lago. The department told the Times it was not involved in raising the money. It remains unclear what will happen if the gap is not closed, as the American Arts Conservancy did not answer the Times' questions about its plans if it cannot afford to bring the sculptures home.
