Venice Biennale 2026: all the national pavilions, artists and curators so far

The 61st edition of the Venice Biennale, the world's oldest and most prestigious art biennial, will open on 9 May 2026 and run through 22 November. The main exhibition follows the curatorial plan of the late Koyo Kouoh, while national pavilions have been announcing their participating artists and organizers. The article provides a comprehensive list of confirmed pavilions so far, including artists such as Genti Korini (Albania), Matías Duville (Argentina), Khaled Sabsabi (Australia), Florentina Holzinger (Austria), Faig Ahmed (Azerbaijan), and many others, with details on venues and organizers.

At Home at Hong Kong Art Week

During Hong Kong Art Week, beyond the dominant Art Basel Hong Kong fair, a series of intimate interventions and installations across the city explore the boundaries between art, design, and everyday life. One notable event is a 'Listening Session' organized by Guangzhou's Vitamin Creative Space in a private home in the New Territories, where Lebanese artist-composer Tarek Atoui debuted two new 'instruments' that transform the living room itself into an interactive sound sculpture. The gathering of about 30 people, mostly in town for art week, blurred the lines between performance, installation, and domestic space.

Previews: 61st Venice Biennale: In Minor Keys

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, opens amid global turmoil and internal controversy. Kouoh, who passed away in May 2025, conceived the exhibition around the metaphor of a "creole garden," emphasizing deep affinities between 111 artists from diverse locations such as Dakar, Beirut, and Salvador. The Biennale is overshadowed by recent geopolitical events, including US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, and faces protests: over 70 participating artists signed an open letter opposing the participation of Israel, Russia, and the US, while the Australian pavilion saw the reinstatement of Khaled Sabsabi after being dropped, and South Africa withdrew its official pavilion over Gabrielle Goliath's femicide project, which she will still present independently.

HKMoA Showcases Local Artists at Venice Biennale with 'Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice' Exhibition

The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) has organized 'Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice' as a Collateral Event of the 61st Venice Biennale, running from May 9 to November 22. The exhibition features artworks by Hong Kong artists Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui, curated under the musical symbol 'Fermata' in dialogue with the Biennale's theme 'In Minor Keys'. This marks the first time HKMoA has curated Hong Kong's exhibition at the Venice Biennale, with support from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.

Hong Kong Artists Bring Quiet Reflection to Venice

The 61st Venice Biennale, themed “In Minor Keys” by late curator Koyo Kouoh, emphasizes quiet reflection over spectacle. A collateral exhibition titled “Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice,” curated by the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA), runs through November 22, 2026, and features two Hong Kong-born artists: Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui. Ng’s installation *Laundry Nocturne* (2026) uses projections and sound to connect the shared laundry-drying traditions of Venice and Hong Kong, while Hui’s *I Would Like to Open a Window for You* (2026) incorporates wrought-iron window frames crafted with local metalsmiths. Both artists explore everyday experiences, memory, and quiet emotions, aligning with the Biennale’s call for a slower, more reflective engagement with art.

Bright future for the next generation of artistic talent

Hong Kong Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui visited Venice to support the Hong Kong Collateral Event at the 61st Venice Biennale, themed “Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice.” The exhibition features artists Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui, with five installations exploring poetic rhythms in everyday life, curated by the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA). Law also viewed American artist Nick Cave’s sculpture *Amalga (Plot)* and announced the Venice Biennale Internship Programme 2026, which will send six arts-background interns to Venice for a six-week residency.

Wer vertritt wen in Venedig?

Trace the making of Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice through complete artwork reveals and installation photography

The article details the making of 'Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice,' a collateral event at the 61st Venice Biennale curated by the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA). The exhibition features two Hong Kong-based artists—established media artist Ng and emerging artist Angel Hui—whose works explore the poetic rhythms of everyday life in Hong Kong, engaging with the Biennale's theme 'In Minor Keys' by Koyo Kouoh. The selection process involved nominations from local tertiary institutions and professional art organizations, with over 200 artists considered before Ng and Hui were chosen.

Meet the artists representing Hong Kong and Macao at the Venice Biennale

Hong Kong artists Angel Hui and Kingsley Ng, along with Macao artists Eric Fok Hoi Seng, Veronica Lei Fong Ieng, and O Chi Wai, will represent the Greater Bay Area at the 61st Venice Biennale, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026. Hong Kong's exhibition, titled 'Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice,' marks a shift from a solo to a duo format for the first time, co-organized and curated by the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA). Hui presents installations featuring embroidered plastic bags and aluminum window grilles inspired by local Hong Kong motifs, while Ng creates site-specific works referencing hanging laundry. Macao's showcase, 'Jacone's Polyphony,' features the three Macao artists. The biennale, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, is themed 'In Minor Keys' and includes 110 artists, 100 national participations, and 31 collateral events.

SCST: Celebrating Cultural Exchange Through Art at the Opening Reception of "Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice" Collateral Event of 61st International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia (Venice Biennale)

At the opening reception of "Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice," a Collateral Event of the 61st Venice Biennale, Hong Kong's Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, delivered a speech celebrating the exhibition. The event marks Hong Kong's 25th year of participation in the Biennale, featuring artists Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui, who present five new site-specific installations that explore stillness and overlooked rhythms of everyday life, in resonance with the Biennale's theme "In Minor Keys." For the first time, the Hong Kong Museum of Art co-organized the exhibition with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, curating a dialogue between the two artists.

HK artists shine at Venice Biennale with ‘Fermata’ exhibition

Hong Kong artists Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui are showcasing their works at the 61st Venice Biennale in a collateral exhibition titled 'Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice', curated by the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) in collaboration with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC). The exhibition, which opened on May 8, 2026, features five installations across a courtyard and four gallery rooms, including Ng's multimedia pieces inspired by hanging laundry and Hui's works blending traditional Chinese embroidery and handcrafted iron window grilles. This marks HKMoA's first curation at the Biennale.

Hong Kong wows the crowds to sleep at the 2026 Venice Biennale

The 2026 Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" by its late artistic director Koyo Kouoh, has been marked by loud protests and urgent environmental alarms, notably at Florentina Holzinger's Austria pavilion. Amid this chaos, the Hong Kong collateral exhibition "Fermata" at Campo della Tana offers a quiet counterpoint, featuring Kingsley Ng Siu-king's installation *Laundry Nocturne (2026)*, a rest lounge with padded floors and cushions that has caused visitors to doze off. The exhibition follows Kouoh's curatorial vision of creating space for silenced voices and convivial collectivity.

Hong Kong Exhibition Opens at 61st Venice Biennale, Showcasing Local Artists' Work

Hong Kong officials, led by Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law, inaugurated the Hong Kong Exhibition at the 61st Venice Biennale on May 8, 2026. For the first time, the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is collaborating with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) to present works by local artists Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui in a Collateral Event running through November 2026. Law also attended the Chinese Pavilion opening and met with the Italian ambassador and the rector of Ca' Foscari University.