Biennale Arte 2026: In Minor Keys

The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia — titled In Minor Keys — runs from Saturday, May 9 to Sunday, November 22, 2026, at the Giardini and the Arsenale venues, and across various locations throughout Venice. A pre-opening for press and professionals takes place on May 6, 7, and 8, with the awards ceremony and official inauguration on May 9.

The exhibition was conceived by Koyo Kouoh, who was nominated as Artistic Director of the Visual Arts Department in November 2024. Following her passing in May 2025, La Biennale di Venezia — with the full support of her family — committed to carrying out the exhibition exactly as she defined it: its theoretical framework, artist selection, catalogue structure, graphic identity, and exhibition architecture all reflect her vision to the end.

The Exhibition: In Minor Keys

In Minor Keys does not organize its contents into rigid thematic sections. Instead, Koyo Kouoh structured the exhibition around a series of conceptual motifs — not abstractly determined, but drawn from a close engagement with the art itself. These motifs include:

• Shrines — Tributes to two foundational artists: Issa Samb (1945–2017), poet, playwright, and co-founder of Laboratoire Agit’Art in Dakar; and Beverly Buchanan (1940–2015), known for her anti-monumental approach to Land Art and public sculpture. Both are presented in the Sala Chini of the Central Pavilion at the Giardini.
• Procession — Inspired by carnival choreographies and Afro-Atlantic gatherings, this motif invites participation over observation, challenging archives and canons through transhistorical and speculative approaches.
• Schools — Artist-led ecosystems rooted in local territories yet operating transnationally, grounded in shared knowledge and autonomy from market forces.
• Rest — Spaces of contemplation and reconnection: the Creole garden, the courtyard, the oasis. Multisensory installations encourage visitors to slow down and engage deeply.
• Enchantment — A counterweight to cynicism about what art can do, drawing on literary references including Beloved by Toni Morrison and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.

The exhibition features 111 invited participants — individual artists, collaborative duos, collectives, and artist-led organizations — from a wide range of geographies, with particular attention to resonances between practices in Salvador, Dakar, San Juan, Beirut, Paris, and Nashville, among others.

Exhibition Design

The spatial design and scenography for In Minor Keys was developed by Wolff Architects, based in Cape Town. The design is centered on the threshold as a portal to alternative experience. At both the Central Pavilion and the Arsenale, transitions between exhibition zones are marked by sweeping indigo banners that reach from the rafters to the floor. The visual identity was created by Clarissa Herbst in collaboration with Alex Sonderegger, drawing on komorebi — the Japanese concept of dappled light filtered through leaves — expressed through tonal grey gradients across signage, posters, and textile banners.

Special Projects

Beyond the Giardini and Arsenale, the exhibition extends to the mainland through a special project at Forte Marghera, Mestre, featuring works by Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Uriel Orlow, and Fabrice Aragno. At the Applied Arts Pavilion in the Arsenale, Gala Porras-Kim — selected by Kouoh in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London — presents a project exploring the relationships between cultural artefacts, museums, and the conventions of institutional classification.

National Participations & Collateral Events

The 61st International Art Exhibition includes 99 National Participations and 31 Collateral Events, announced on March 4, 2026. The International Jury will be announced in April. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement will not be awarded in this edition.

Visitor Information

The exhibition is open to the public from May 9 to November 22, 2026, at the Giardini and the Arsenale in Venice. Tickets are available online via the official La Biennale di Venezia website, with early bird pricing available through the end of March 2026. Biennale Sessions — a dedicated program for universities, academies of fine arts, and research institutions — is open for groups of 50 or more participants, offering free seminar spaces and logistical support.

About La Biennale di Venezia

Founded in 1895, La Biennale di Venezia is one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world, organizing major international exhibitions across art, architecture, cinema, dance, music, and theatre. The International Art Exhibition, held in odd-numbered years, remains its flagship event and one of the most significant platforms for contemporary art globally.

For tickets, accreditation, and visitor information, visit labiennale.org.

See also: Plan ahead with our Venice Biennale 2026 guide, and explore other key dates such as Salone del Mobile 2026 and the Design Doha 2026 Biennial in our events & exhibitions listings.