The article highlights several collateral events not to miss at the 61st Venice Biennale, including "The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026" at Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù, featuring 20 artists from Southeast Asia, Ireland, and Serbia, anchored by Marina Abramović's performance piece "Sea Punishing" (2006). Other notable exhibitions include a seven-decade survey of Korean artist Lee Ufan at San Marco Art Centre, "TURANDOT: To the Daughters of the East" at ACP Palazzo Franchetti featuring 11 female artists from Central Asia, Li Yi-Fan's "Screen Melancholy" at Palazzo delle Prigioni, and Nalini Malani's "Of Woman Born" at Magazzini del Sale.
These collateral events matter because they expand the Biennale's thematic scope beyond the main exhibition, offering deeper explorations of identity, displacement, postcolonial narratives, and spiritual resilience. They also showcase significant international artists and curatorial perspectives, particularly from Asia and Central Asia, reinforcing the Biennale's role as a global platform for contemporary art discourse.