Venice Biennale runs to 22 November with 99 pavilions

The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia opened on 9 May 2026 and closes on 22 November. Titled In Minor Keys, it spreads across three sites: the Giardini, the Arsenale and Forte Marghera in Mestre, with 111 participants ranging from individual artists to duos, collectives and artist-run organisations. Its curator, Koyo Kouoh, was the first African woman appointed to lead the main exhibition; she died in May 2025 and her curatorial team carried the project through. The jury withheld the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement this year.

The national section has changed shape too. Ninety-nine countries are taking part, up from 86 in 2024, with Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Somalia, El Salvador, Moldova, Nauru and Vietnam appearing for the first time. Qatar is building a permanent pavilion in the Giardini, the first addition there in three decades. That single construction says more about the shifting map of contemporary art than most of the wall texts inside.