2026 Venice Biennale: 111 Artists, No Paintings, Geopolitical Fractures

The 2026 Venice Biennale, titled 'In Minor Keys' and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, will feature 111 participating artists in the main exhibition, including Wangechi Mutu, Otobong Nkanga, Kader Attia, and Marcel Duchamp. The exhibition emphasizes emotional, sensory, and subjective experiences, with shrines, resting spaces, Deep Listening, sound baths, and a poetry caravan. Six alternative art schools, including blaxTARLINES and RAW Material Company, will contribute. The Biennale occurs amid a global rightward shift, climate breakdown, and geopolitical fracture, with the pavilion system reflecting these tensions. The South African Pavilion will remain empty after hiring and firing Gabrielle Goliath; Australia hired, fired, and rehired Khaled Sabsabi, who also appears in the main exhibition. Both controversies relate to artists' political positions. Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, a Giorgia Meloni appointee, oversees the event.