A Time of Transition

During the preview week of the 61st Venice Biennale, escalating protests targeted the national pavilions of Israel and Russia, with demonstrations by Pussy Riot, ANGA (Art Not Genocide Alliance), and Baltic pavilions. A major protest on May 8 drew over 3,000 people in solidarity with Palestine, and 27 national pavilions—including Austria, the Netherlands, France, and Japan—staged a strike, the first at the Biennale since 1968. The Golden Lion jury resigned after declaring they would not consider countries under ICC investigation (Israel and Russia), and the Biennale administration replaced the prize with a visitors' award, from which half the artists in the main exhibition have withdrawn.

Across Venice, Artists Defy Censorship to Mourn and Memorialize Gaza

The 2026 Venice Biennale, titled “In Minor Keys,” features numerous artworks that mourn and memorialize the destruction of Gaza, despite censorship pressures. The main exhibition opens with a poem by slain Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, and includes works by artists such as Theo Eshetu, Mohammed Joha, Manuel Mathieu, and Avi Mograbi that directly or indirectly address the conflict. Outside the official Biennale, South African artist Gabrielle Goliath’s performance series “Elegy” was censored by her country’s culture minister after she proposed a version honoring murdered Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada, leading her to present the work independently at a church in Venice.

In Pictures: The Highlights of the 2026 Venice Biennale

En images : les grands moments de la Biennale de Venise 2026

The 2026 Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by Koyo Kouoh, opened on May 9, 2026, at the Arsenale and Giardini venues. Kouoh, who died suddenly in May 2025 at age 57, conceived the event as a counterpoint to global noise and fury, inviting visitors to slow down and tune into minor tonalities. The exhibition features works addressing colonial memory, slavery, and Gaza, with a team of four curators executing her vision. Highlights include Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons's tribute to Kouoh and Toni Morrison, Hala Schoukair's installation, and Gabrielle Goliath's "Elegy," alongside collateral shows like the Dries van Noten Foundation at Palazzo Pisani Moretta and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation's "Still Joy – from Ukraine into the World."