Alma Allen Flops in Venice

Hyperallergic reports on the 2026 Venice Biennale, with Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara criticizing the U.S. pavilion's exhibition of Alma Allen's work as a disappointing departure from the previous editions' profound explorations of Indigenous life and Black sovereignty. Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian offers a positive review of the main exhibition "In Minor Keys," while Greta Rainbow covers a poetry procession honoring the late artistic director Koyo Kouoh. Additional stories include a review of the film "The Christophers" about an artist and forger, and news of workers at the American Folk Art Museum picketing for higher wages.

5 Trends Shaping the 2026 Venice Biennale

The 2026 Venice Biennale has opened to the public, featuring the main exhibition 'In Minor Keys' conceived by the late Cameroonian Swiss curator Koyo Kouoh, who died unexpectedly in May 2025. Kouoh, the first African woman appointed to lead the Biennale, had her curatorial team—including Rasha Salti, Marie Hélène Pereira, and Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo—carry forward her vision of art as a 'shared and sustaining force.' The opening was weighted with politics and emotion.

venice biennale 2026 artist list koyo kouoh

The Venice Biennale has released the artist list for its 61st edition, titled "In Minor Keys," featuring 111 participants. This edition is historically unique as its curator, Koyo Kouoh, passed away in May 2025 during the exhibition's development, leaving a team of advisors including Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Helene Pereira, and Rasha Salti to realize her vision. The exhibition focuses on understated, poetic sensibilities and living artists, a departure from the larger, historically-focused surveys of recent years.

the venice biennale list

The 61st Venice Biennale has announced the 111 participating artists for its main exhibition, titled “In Minor Keys.” Curated by a team of collaborators following the vision of the late Koyo Kouoh, the exhibition includes 105 individual artists and collectives, alongside six artist-led organizations. The show is structured around conceptual motifs such as "shrines," "rest," "procession," and "schools," featuring major installations by artists like Alvaro Barrington, Nick Cave, and Wangechi Mutu, with special tributes to Issa Samb and Beverly Buchanan.

Art Rotterdam focuses on photography

The 27th edition of Art Rotterdam took place at the Rotterdam Ahoy, featuring over 150 galleries with a heavy emphasis on the Dutch art scene. This year’s fair was marked by a strategic integration with the photography fair Unseen and coincided with major local developments, including the relocation of the Nederlands Fotomuseum to its new 'Santos' home and the opening of the Fenix Museum of Migration. Notable presentations included Sakir Khader’s poignant photography of Palestinian resistance at No Man's Art Gallery and Shimon Kamada’s atmospheric oil paintings at Diez Gallery.

An open letter to La Biennale di Venezia calls out inaction in the face of global atrocities

A group of 74 artists and curators invited to the 61st Venice Biennale have issued an open letter to the institution's president, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco. The signatories are protesting the decision to relocate the Israeli Pavilion to the Arsenale, placing it in close proximity to the central exhibition 'In Minor Keys' curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. The letter demands the exclusion of official delegations from countries accused of war crimes—specifically Israel, Russia, and the United States—and accuses the Biennale of complicity through its silence on global atrocities.

Biennale Arte 2026: the invited artists

The Venice Biennale has officially announced the list of invited artists for its 61st edition in 2026. The selection features a diverse global cohort including established figures like Laurie Anderson, Nick Cave, and Carsten Höller, alongside influential collectives such as fierce pussy and blaxTARLINES KUMASI. The list also includes significant posthumous inclusions like Marcel Duchamp and Beverly Buchanan, signaling a curatorial approach that bridges contemporary practice with historical legacies.

Venice Biennale Names 111 Artists for International Exhibition

The Venice Biennale has officially announced the 111 artists, duos, and collectives selected for the 61st International Art Exhibition, titled "In Minor Keys." The exhibition follows the vision of the late Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh, who passed away in May 2024 after conceptualizing the show and selecting the majority of its participants. The roster features a diverse global lineup including Wangechi Mutu, Kader Attia, Khaled Sabsabi, and Laurie Anderson, with a curatorial focus on quiet resistance, poetic improvisation, and the "lower frequencies" of social and psychic life.

Miami collectors donate 36 works by African and diaspora artists to Tate

Miami-based collectors Jorge and Darlene Pérez have donated 36 works by 15 artists from Africa and the African diaspora to Tate. The gift includes photographs by Seydou Keïta, paintings by Cheri Samba, a hanging piece by El Anatsui, and works by Joy Labinjo, Wangechi Mutu, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Bruce Onobrakpeya, and Gavin Jantjes. The donation also comes with a multi-million dollar endowment to support curatorial research on African and Latin American art, funding a dedicated curatorial post currently held by Osei Bonsu.

Urgent Request from Participating Artists and Curators of the 61st Venice Biennale

第61回ヴェネツィア・ビエンナーレ参加アーティストおよびキュレーターによる緊急要請

A group of 73 artists and curators participating in the 61st Venice Biennale, including Yoshiko Shimada and Bubu de la Madeleine, have issued an urgent demand to the Biennale's board to revoke Israel's participation. The collective specifically objects to the decision to relocate the Israeli pavilion to the Arsenale, arguing that its presence contradicts the curatorial vision of Artistic Director Koyo Kouoh, which emphasizes the dignity of all life. They contend that the military and police presence required for the pavilion introduces an atmosphere of violence and fear that undermines the exhibition's integrity.

"In Minor Keys" Hits All the Right Notes

The 61st Venice Biennale's international exhibition, titled "In Minor Keys," opened with a somber curatorial press conference, as artistic director Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2024 at age 57, was not physically present. The exhibition features 110 invited participants across the Arsenale and Giardini, including works by Buhlebezwe Siwani, Johannes Phokela, Wangechi Mutu, Ebony G. Patterson, and Kambui Olujimi. Protests marked the opening, with gatherings at the temporary Israeli pavilion and Pussy Riot's presence at the Russian pavilion, while the exhibition itself asks viewers to look closer at overlooked forms of representation and consider innovative models of measuring the world.

Buhlebezwe Siwani “uYana umhlaba” at Consonni Radziszewski, Milan

Consonni Radziszewski inaugurates its Milan space with "uYana umhlaba," the first solo exhibition in Italy by South African artist Buhlebezwe Siwani. The show presents a new body of work that expands on research begun in 2020 with the Inkanyamba series, first exhibited at the Galeria Municipal de Almada in Portugal.

In Minor Keys: The 61st Biennale di Arte Venezia Opens Under Koyo Kouoh (1967–2025).

The 61st Biennale di Arte Venezia opens under the posthumous curatorial vision of Koyo Kouoh (1967–2025), the late Cameroonian-born curator who reshaped contemporary African and diasporic art discourse. The central exhibition, spanning the Giardini and Arsenale, features 111 participants including artists, collectives, and artist-led organizations from across the Global South, with works in textiles, film, sculpture, and performance that interrogate colonialism, migration, and ecological repair. The Biennale is also marked by a pronounced presence of African and diasporic narratives across national pavilions, including several first-time pavilions from the African continent.

Consonni Radziszewski Launches With a Three-City Footprint

Dealers Matteo Consonni and Dawid Radziszewski have merged their respective galleries, Madragoa in Lisbon and Galeria Dawid Radziszewski in Warsaw, to form a single entity: Consonni Radziszewski. The new gallery launched with a third physical space in Milan, timed to coincide with the city's art week and the Venice Biennale. This merger follows a three-year period of collaboration on art fair booths and joint artist representation, specifically for photographer Joanna Piotrowska.