venice biennale 2026 national pavilions

The 61st Venice Biennale is taking shape as national pavilions announce their participants and curatorial themes for the 2026 edition. Russia has confirmed its return to the Giardini with a multidisciplinary exhibition titled “The Tree is Rooted in the Sky,” following its 2022 withdrawal and the 2024 loan of its pavilion to Bolivia. The upcoming edition, themed “In Minor Keys,” will proceed under the vision of the late curator Koyo Kouoh, who passed away in 2025 after becoming the first African woman appointed to helm the prestigious event.

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.

2026 Venice Biennale pavilions: your go-to list [Updated]

ArtReview has compiled a running list of national pavilions for the 61st Venice Biennale, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026. The Biennale was set to be curated by Koyo Kouoh, who died on 10 May 2025. Recent announcements include Haitham Al Busafi representing Oman, Genti Korini representing Albania with a three-channel video installation titled 'A Place in The Sun (still)', and Matías Duville representing Argentina with an interactive salt-and-charcoal installation. The Australia Pavilion will feature artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino, who were initially dropped due to controversy over Sabsabi's 2007 film 'You' but later reinstated. Florentina Holzinger will represent Austria with a water-themed performance.

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.

We visited the 2026 Venice Art Biennale: the exhibitions and pavilions you shouldn’t miss

The 2026 Venice Art Biennale has opened across the Giardini, Arsenale, and venues throughout the city, with geopolitics, climate collapse, and national identities dominating the exhibitions. Notable pavilions include Austria's "Seaworld Venice" by Florentina Holzinger, the Czech and Slovak Pavilion's "Il Silenzio della Talpa" by Jakub Jansa and Selmeci Kocka Jusko, India's "Geographies of Distance: remembering home" featuring multiple artists, and the Taiwan Pavilion's "Screen Melancholy" by Li Yi-Fan. The Russian Pavilion has become a focal point of controversy, with guards and empty beer bottles outside, and the Pussy Riot collective staging a protest nearby.

Hyperallergic’s Guide to the 2026 Venice Biennale

Hyperallergic has published its guide to the 2026 Venice Biennale, detailing what to see and do at this year's edition. The guide covers the three main categories of the Biennale—the Giardini with 29 permanent national pavilions, the Arsenale with temporary rented spaces, and collateral events across the city. Key developments include the return of Russia to its permanent Giardini pavilion and Israel's participation with a new contractual stipulation preventing its artist from closing the pavilion, after Ruth Patir's protest in 2024. South Africa withdrew following the cancellation of Gabrielle Goliath's video installation 'Elegy,' which mourns victims of Israel's genocide in Gaza and will now be shown at a historic church. The United States will be represented by Alma Allen after Barbara Chase-Riboud stepped down, and Qatar is set to become the first country in decades to build a new pavilion in the Giardini.

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

The 61st Venice Biennale has begun announcing its lineup for the 2026 edition, which is scheduled to run from May 9 to November 22. While the main exhibition will follow a curatorial framework established by the late Koyo Kouoh, various nations have started naming the artists and curators who will represent them in the Giardini, the Arsenale, and satellite venues across the city.

Matías Duville on Representing Argentina at the 61st Venice Biennale

Matías Duville will represent Argentina at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026 with a site-specific installation titled *Monitor Yin Yang*, transforming the Argentina Pavilion into a walkable landscape made of salt and charcoal. The work expands drawing into a spatial, sonic, and time-based experience, inspired by the natural environments of Mar del Plata and Patagonia. Duville discusses his approach in an interview with ArtReview, noting how early encounters with vast territories and geological time continue to shape his practice, and how the project relates to the Biennale's theme, *In Minor Keys*, by focusing on subtle intensities and open-ended evolution.

Wer vertritt wen in Venedig?

MONITOR YIN YANG ARGENTINA ARRIVES AT THE VENICE BIENNALE WITH AN OPEN CARTOGRAPHY

The Argentine Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale will feature a site-specific installation titled "Monitor Yin Yang" by artist Matías Duville. Curated by Josefina Barcia, the work uses salt and charcoal to create an unstable, walkable landscape that explores the coexistence of opposing forces such as light and shadow, waste and energy. The installation includes a sound composition developed with Centolla Society and Alvise Vidolin, integrating real-time environmental data from Venice. Duville's project was selected from 69 proposals in an open competition organized by Argentina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Secretariat of Culture, and the Argentine Investment and Trade Agency.