The US State Department has officially confirmed that sculptor Alma Allen will represent the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale, following earlier delays caused by a 43-day government shutdown. Allen's exhibition, titled "Alma Allen: Call the Breeze," will run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, at the US Pavilion, organized by commissioner Jenni Parido of the American Arts Conservancy and independent curator Jeffrey Uslip. The show will feature around 30 sculptures, including new site-specific works, and the state department announcement explicitly aligns the presentation with President Donald Trump's "America first" ideology, framing the artworks as symbols of collective optimism and American excellence.
This selection matters because it places a self-taught, Mexico-based sculptor at the center of a major international art event, highlighting tensions between nationalist rhetoric and the global nature of contemporary art. Allen's exhibition coincides with the 250th anniversary of the United States, and the Trump administration has simultaneously slashed federal arts funding while redirecting grants toward patriotic projects. Allen's career trajectory—including representation by Kasmin, Olney Gleason, and Mendes Wood DM, all of which dropped him after he accepted the pavilion invitation—underscores the complex intersections of politics, commerce, and artistic recognition in the art world.