Andrée Bober Publishes Her 2026 Venice Biennale Highlights List for the First Time

Andrée Bober, founding director and curator of Landmarks at the University of Texas at Austin, has released her annual Venice Biennale recommendations to the public for the first time. For 25 years, Bober has attended every edition of the Biennale, compiling a list of must-see exhibitions beyond the main Giardini and Arsenale venues. The 2026 edition includes a detailed Google Map covering most neighborhoods. Bober spent twelve days in Venice, walking 78.9 miles and climbing 135 flights of stairs. She notes that this year's Biennale is shaped by themes of war, displacement, climate change, AI, and a return to figurative painting, with palpable political tensions and street protests. Her standout discovery was Vyacheslav Akhunov's 'Instruments of the Mind' at Palazzo Franchetti. The list, titled 'Worth the Detour: Beyond the Giardini and Arsenale,' is available as a PDF.