Biennale 2026: Protest, Death, and the Rise of Luxury Sponsorship

Mariagrazia Muscatello's critical review of the 2026 Venice Biennale describes an edition marked by death—both literal, with the passing of curator Koyo Kouoh, and symbolic—and a climate of unrest reflecting geopolitical tensions, the genocide in Palestine, and a crisis of legitimacy for art institutions. The Biennale opened amid protests, including a strike on May 8 organized by ANGA and Venetian groups like S.a.L.E. Docks, demanding solidarity with Palestine and better labor conditions. Muscatello contrasts the superficial activism of some pavilions with the genuine alternative models of self-managed spaces like S.a.L.E. Docks and Centro Social Morion, which hosted an anti-biennial featuring Indonesian collective Taring Padi. The central exhibition at the Arsenale explores death and cyclical renewal through works by Dan Lie, Kader Attia, Tabita Rezaire, Ayrson Heráclito, and Alfredo Jaar. The author critiques the Biennale's historical role as a geopolitical device, noting that the 2026 edition saw Qatar's pavilion represented by Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, breaking the link between artist origin and national representation, and Bvlgari becoming the first exclusive partner in the institution's history, with its own pavilion in the Giardini. Muscatello warns that this shift towards luxury brands replacing national pavilions could be the Biennale's dystopian future, consolidating money's dominance over cultural and political debate.