The Venice Biennale has released the artist list for its 61st edition, titled "In Minor Keys," featuring 111 participants. This edition is historically unique as its curator, Koyo Kouoh, passed away in May 2025 during the exhibition's development, leaving a team of advisors including Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Helene Pereira, and Rasha Salti to realize her vision. The exhibition focuses on understated, poetic sensibilities and living artists, a departure from the larger, historically-focused surveys of recent years.
As the world's most influential contemporary art event, the Venice Biennale serves as a primary indicator of global artistic trends. This edition is particularly significant for its streamlined artist list and its focus on "minor keys" as a response to global tension. It also marks a rare instance of institutional continuity following a curator's death and highlights the controversial reinstatement of Khaled Sabsabi for the Australian Pavilion, who will be the only artist appearing in both the main exhibition and a national pavilion.