The Venice Biennale has announced the five-member jury for its 2026 edition, which will award the prestigious Golden Lion prizes. The jury president is Solange Oliveira Farkas, founder of the Videobrasil Biennial, and she will be joined by curators and academics Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi.
The Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas has awarded its 2027 Nasher Prize to Petrit Halilaj, a Kosovo-born sculptor known for works addressing his country's history and sociopolitical realities. At 40, Halilaj is the youngest recipient of the prize since its 2015 inception. The award, now given biannually, includes $100,000 and a future exhibition at the Nasher. In an unusual gesture, Halilaj will donate the entire prize purse to the Hajde! Foundation, a Kosovo-based nonprofit he co-founded in 2014 to support Kosovar artists.
Cecilia Vicuña, the 77-year-old Chilean artist known for her ecologically and politically engaged practice, is profiled in her Tribeca home. The article describes her daily rituals of corpse pose and walks, her decades-long exile since the Pinochet coup, and her recent international acclaim including the Golden Lion at the 2022 Venice Biennale and the inaugural Icon Artist Gold Medal at Art Basel Miami Beach. A major solo show is on view at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and MOCA Los Angeles will unveil a new commission, “Quipu of Encounters: The Dream of Water,” following her selection as the first recipient of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Environment and Art Prize. The interview covers her studio practice, her focus on ecological collapse, and her work with Indigenous knotting traditions, poetry, and performance.
French artist Annette Messager, 82, welcomes Beaux Arts Magazine into her Malakoff studio and home ahead of her exhibition at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris. The studio is a chaotic, poetic bric-à-brac filled with hybrid creatures, stuffed toys, anatomical objects, and textile works, including her iconic piece "Les Piques" (1992–1993). Messager, who won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2005, discusses her playful yet serious approach to art, describing artists as "mad, like children" who play constantly, sometimes very seriously. Her upcoming shows include presentations at Centre Pompidou Málaga, Galería Albarrán Bourdais in Madrid, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, and the Kunsthalle Prague.
Marina Abramović and Peter Doig have been awarded the 2025 Praemium Imperiale prizes for sculpture and painting, respectively, each receiving a 15 million yen (£77,000) honorarium. The awards, presented by the Japan Art Association under honorary patron Prince Hitachi, also recognized Belgian filmmaker Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (theatre/film), Hungarian pianist András Schiff (music), and Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto De Moura (architecture). The National Youth Theatre received the 2025 Grant for Young Artists.
La giuria della Biennale d’Arte di Venezia 2026 sarà tutta composta da donne
The organizing body of the Venice Biennale has announced the international jury for its 61st International Art Exhibition, titled 'In Minor Keys.' For the first time, the five-member jury is composed entirely of women: Solange Oliveira Farkas (president), Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi. They will award the prestigious Golden Lions and special mentions during the awards ceremony on May 9.
Lebanese-Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi reflects on his challenging journey to representing Australia at the Venice Biennale. The article details his personal and professional struggles, including his background as a refugee and the political controversies surrounding his work, which have shaped his path to one of the art world's most prestigious international exhibitions.