At the 2026 Venice Biennale, Somalia has established its first-ever national pavilion, commissioned by the Somali government to showcase the richness of Somali culture through the theme of Saddaxleey, a triadic form of Somali poetry and proverbs. The pavilion features works by Somali Swedish artist Ayan Farah, UK-based Somali Danish multidisciplinary artist Asmaa Jama, and Somali British poet Warsan Shire. However, a collective of queer Somali artists, curators, and culture workers called Warbixinta Cidda has publicly criticized the pavilion for overrepresenting the diaspora, selecting an all-male advisory board, and appointing an Italian co-curator instead of Somali curators, raising concerns about representation and neocolonialism.
This controversy matters because it highlights ongoing tensions around national representation, diaspora inclusion, and colonial legacies within major international art events like the Venice Biennale. The critique from Warbixinta Cidda also draws attention to the Biennale's leadership under president Pietrangelo Buttofuoco, who has ties to Italy's far-right, and the broader political context of Italian colonialism in the Horn of Africa. The pavilion's debut thus becomes a flashpoint for debates about who gets to represent a nation on the global stage and the ethical responsibilities of artists and curators in such contexts.