5 free must-see exhibitions to pick in Parisian galleries in May

5 expos gratuites coups de cœur à cueillir dans les galeries parisiennes en mai

Beaux Arts Magazine highlights five free exhibitions to visit in Parisian galleries in May 2026. At Galerie Mayoral, a show explores Alexander Calder's ties to Paris, featuring gouaches and totems. Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire presents Michel Jocaille's first solo exhibition, "Lily of the Valley," which uses lily-of-the-valley motifs to evoke labor history and camp aesthetics. Galerie Anne-Laure Buffard hosts a poignant dialogue between Diane Esmond, a painter whose works were burned by the Nazis, and her granddaughter Adrianna Wallis, whose photographs reference looted objects. Galerie Templon exhibits Alioune Diagne's paintings inspired by Wolof traditions, and another gallery shows prints by Swedish artist Mamma Andersson.

La Biennale de Venise s’ouvre dans un climat houleux

The 61st Venice Biennale opened amid intense controversy after its president, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, announced the return of the Russian pavilion, which had been absent since the start of the Ukraine war. The European Commission suspended its €2 million subsidy for the 2028 edition, and the entire Biennale jury resigned on April 30. Buttafuoco later declared the Russian pavilion would remain closed, but protests erupted during the pre-opening days (May 6–8), drawing 28,000 professionals. Pussy Riot members, Femen activists, and the Free Nations League staged demonstrations, while the Israeli pavilion remained open despite a letter signed by nearly 200 artists calling for its exclusion.

The Venice Biennale Reaches Full Capacity

La Biennale de Venise fait le plein

The Venice Biennale has reached full capacity, with all exhibition spaces and pavilions fully booked for the upcoming edition. The article reports on the overwhelming demand from participating countries and artists, highlighting the logistical challenges and the record number of national pavilions confirmed for the event.

6 musées incontournables à visiter à Venise

Beaux Arts Magazine highlights six must-visit museums in Venice, including the Palazzo Ducale, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and the Pinault Collection venues Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. The article notes that during the Biennale, the city is filled with free pavilions, but the main museums have high entry fees, offset by passes like the Venice Museum Pass (€59) and Venice City Pass (€119). It also mentions a current Marina Abramović exhibition at the Gallerie dell'Accademia, marking her as the first living female artist honored there.

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."

Venice Biennale 2026: The Pavilions Not to Be Missed

Biennale de Venise 2026 : les pavillons à ne surtout pas manquer

The 61st Venice Biennale, curated by Koyo Kouoh as an invitation to slow down and reconnect with emotions, features a constellation of contemplative and powerful proposals across the city. Notable national pavilions include the Holy See transforming a monastic garden into an immersive sound experience by Soundwalk Collective, Canada exploring colonial heritage through giant water lilies by Abbas Akhavan, and Austria electrifying the Giardini with radical performances by Florentina Holzinger. Other highlights include Spain dissecting collective memory through postcards, Poland imagining new forms of language between human and underwater worlds, and India's pavilion exploring notions of home.

« No art washing ! » : à la Biennale de Venise, près de 3 000 manifestants réunis pour dénoncer la présence du pavillon israélien

On May 8, 2026, nearly 3,000 protesters gathered in Venice to demonstrate against the presence of the Israeli pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Led by the collective Art Not Genocide Alliance (Anga), the crowd included artists, curators, and cultural workers who chanted slogans such as "Stop al Padiglione genocidio" and called for a strike on the closing day of the professional previews. Dozens of national pavilions, including those of France, Belgium, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, and Ukraine, closed in solidarity. The protest followed a letter sent by Anga in March demanding Israel's exclusion, which went unanswered, and the self-dissolution of the awards jury on April 30 over the presence of both Israel and Russia.

Biennale de Venise 2026 : les saturnales éblouissantes d’Yto Barrada pour le pavillon français

Yto Barrada has been selected to represent France at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026 with her exhibition "Comme Saturne" (Like Saturn) in the French Pavilion. The installation features rebellious stage curtains hiding wasp nests and a copper daguerreotype plate of a planet, a large rock, a Wheel of Fortune, and a nostalgic vanitas arrangement around a missing mirror frame. Curated by Myriam Ben Salah, the show explores textile and natural dyeing, with three cabinets addressing the transmission of know-how, migration of plants and people, postcolonial history, and Enlightenment imperialism. A central room displays 70 pieces forming a symmetrical frieze of red natural dyes, while a black monochrome patchwork highlights the difficulty of achieving black in dyeing. Barrada is the fifth woman to represent France at the Biennale.

Brittany Invites Itself to the Venice Biennale: An Unusual Pavilion Dedicated to Breton Creation Moors in the Lagoon

La Bretagne s’invite à la Biennale de Venise : un insolite pavillon dédié à la création bretonne s’est amarré dans la lagune

For the 61st Venice Biennale, a group of artists and art figures from Brittany have created an unofficial "Breton pavilion" in the form of a spectacular sailboat moored on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. The boat, designed by artist Joachim Monvoisin, features contributions from Morgane Tschiember (who sewed a sail with a black cross, the 11th-century Breton flag) and master glassmaker Andrew Erdos (who made the navigation lights). Performances during the opening week included readings by Breton authors and traditional music concerts with binious and bombardes on the Via Garibaldi.