Queer Artists at Venice Biennale 2026 Explore Borders, Shame, and Belonging

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled 'In Minor Keys' and curated by Koyo Kouoh, features numerous queer and diasporic artists whose works interrogate nationhood, migration, and state control. Scotland's exhibition 'Shame Parade' by Bugarin+Castle originated from observations of a noise curfew in Manila North Cemetery, where low-income residents live among graves. The installation includes a jeepney sculpture referencing Filipino public transport and a clock-like object symbolizing temporal control. In the Japan Pavilion, Fukushima-born Ei Arakawa-Nash presents over 200 baby dolls, contemplating queer parenthood and anti-Asian discrimination in the US. Greece's Andreas Angelidakis links the 1930s establishment of the Greek pavilion to fascist persecution of homosexuals, featuring works by Yannis Tsarouchis and referencing activist Zak Kostopoulos killed in 2018. Switzerland's pavilion includes a nuclear bunker replica and an embassy door, curated by Nina Wakeford, to explore heteronormative state machinery and gay migration. Other notable participants: Lubaina Himid (Great Britain), Yto Barrada (France), Khaled Sabsabi (Australia), Sung Tieu (Germany), and Abbas Akhavan (Canada). The biennale runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, at Giardini, Arsenale, and other Venice venues.