Artist-Led Organizations Take Center Stage at 61st Venice Biennale
The 61st Venice Art Biennale, themed In Minor Keys, is set to take place from May 6 to May 8, 2026, with the official opening scheduled for May 9, 2026. Curated by Koyo Kouoh, the exhibition will feature 105 artists and six artist-led organizations, highlighting themes such as Shrines, Procession, Rest, and Schools. The Schools section will showcase RAW Material Company (Senegal), G.A.S. Foundation (Nigeria), Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (Kenya), blaxTARLINES KUMASI (Ghana), lugar a dudas (Colombia), and Denniston Hill (USA). The Central Pavilion will pay tribute to Issa Samb and Beverly Buchanan. Performance programming will include a poetic procession inspired by Kouoh's 1999 Poetry Caravan. The catalogue will contain four-page artist spreads and essays, but no Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement will be presented. Noteworthy participants include Laurie Anderson and Wangechi Mutu.
Key facts
- 61st Venice Art Biennale titled In Minor Keys
- 105 artists and six artist-led organizations participate
- Pre-opening days 6–8 May 2026, inauguration 9 May 2026
- Curated by Koyo Kouoh, who passed away in May 2025
- Six Schools: RAW Material Company, G.A.S. Foundation, NCAI, blaxTARLINES KUMASI, lugar a dudas, Denniston Hill
- Conceptual motifs: Shrines, Procession, Rest, Schools
- Central Pavilion Shrine honors Issa Samb and Beverly Buchanan
- No Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement awarded
- Catalogue includes 8 original essays and over 100 contributors
- Scenography by Wolff Architects, visual identity by Clarissa Herbst and Alex Sonderegger
Entities
Artists
- Koyo Kouoh
- Issa Samb
- Beverly Buchanan
- Laurie Anderson
- Marcel Duchamp
- Nick Cave
- Wangechi Mutu
- Walid Raad
- Pio Abad
- Philip Aguirre y Otegui
- Akinbode Akinbiyi
- Fabrice Aragno
- Nancy Brooks Brody
- Joy Episalla
- Zoe Leonard
- Carrie Yamaoka
- Jo-ey Tang
- Kader Attia
- Sammy Baloji
- Ranti Bam
- Alvaro Barrington
- Éric Baudelaire
- Sabian Baumann
- Seyni Awa Camara
- Carolina Caycedo
- Annalee Davis
- BuBu de la Madeleine
- Dawn DeDeaux
- Nolan Oswald Dennis
- Bonnie Devine
- Godfried Donkor
- Edouard Duval-Carrié
- Torkwase Dyson
- rana elnemr
- Theo Eshetu
- Rachel Fallon
- Alice Maher
- Sofía Gallisá Muriente
- Adebunmi Gbadebo
- Leonilda González
- Linda Goode Bryant
- Joana Hadjithomas
- Khalil Joreige
- Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka
- Ayrson Heráclito
- Clarissa Herbst
- Dominique Rust
- Nicholas Hlobo
- Carsten Höller
- Sohrab Hura
- Alfredo Jaar
- Mohammed Joha
- Michael Joo
- Nina Katchadourian
- Bodys Isek Kingelez
- Sandra Knecht
- Marcia Kure
- Natalia Lassalle-Morillo
- Gloria Morillo
- Florence Lazar
- Dan Lie
- Werewere Liking
- Daniel Lind-Ramos
- Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
- Kamaal Malak
- Senzeni Marasela
- Guadalupe Maravilla
- Manuel Mathieu
- Georgina Maxim
- Tiona Nekkia McClodden
- Big Chief Demond Melancon
- Avi Mograbi
- Eustaquio Neves
- Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn
- Tammy Nguyen
- Otobong Nkanga
- Kaloki Nyamai
- Temitayo Ogunbiyi
- Pauline Oliveros
- Kambui Olujimi
- Hagar Ophir
- Uriel Orlow
- Ebony G. Patterson
- Rajni Perera
- Marigold Santos
- Thania Petersen
- Alan Phelan
- Johannes Phokela
- Léonard Pongo
- Gala Porras-Kim
- Mohammed Z. Rahman
- Tabita Rezaire
- Guadalupe Rosales
- Yo-E Ryou
- Khaled Sabsabi
- Rose Salane
- Amina Saoudi Aït Khay
- Carrie Schneider
- Hala Schoukair
- Berni Searle
- Mmakgabo Mmapula Helen Sebidi
- Wardha Shabbir
- Yoshiko Shimada
- Himali Singh Soin
- David Soin Tappeser
- Buhlebezwe Siwani
- Cauleen Smith
- Vera Tamari
- Tsai Ming-liang
- Victoria-Idongesit Udondian
- Celia Vásquez Yui
- Kemang Wa Lehulere
- Kennedy Yanko
- Raed Yassin
- Sawangwongse Yawnghwe
- Billie Zangewa
- Tandazani Dhlakama
- Adrienne Edwards
- Stefanie Hessler
- Miguel A. López
- Hélio Menezes
- Wanda Nanibush
- Oluremi C. Onabanjo
- Françoise Vergès
- Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo
- Marie Hélène Pereira
- Rasha Salti
- Siddhartha Mitter
- Rory Tsapayi
- Alex Sonderegger
- Toni Morrison
- Gabriel García Márquez
- fierce pussy
- Tanka Fonta
- Melvin Edwards
- Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi
- Nnena Kalu
- Michael Dagostino
- Joey-Tang
- Sofía Galisá Muriente
- María Magdalena Campos-Pons
- Amina Saoudi Ait Khay
- Mmakgabo Mmampula Helen Sebidi
- Chiara Camoni
- Giorgio Celiberti Jr.
- Omar Galliani
- Maurizio Cervellati
- Andrea Rossi Andrea
- Toni Zancaro
- John Ravenal
- Robert Lazzarini
- Alma Allen
- Jeffrey Usli
- Jean-Luc Godard
Institutions
- La Biennale di Venezia
- RAW Material Company
- Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation
- Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI)
- blaxTARLINES KUMASI
- lugar a dudas
- Denniston Hill
- Laboratoire Agit’Art
- Wolff Architects
- Contemporary And (C&)
- Laboratoire Agit'Art
- Venice Biennale
- Creative Australia
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- ArtAsiaPacific
- fierce pussy
- G.A.S. Foundation
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Applied Arts Pavilion
- U.S. Department of State
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Anga - Art Not Genocide Alliance
- Giardini della Biennale
- Arsenale di Venezia
- Andrew Edlin Gallery
- Pina Magazine
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Giardini
- Arsenale
- Senegal
- Nigeria
- Kenya
- Ghana
- Colombia
- United States
- Dakar
- Timbuktu
- Cape Town
- South Africa
- Sydney
- Australia
- London
- United Kingdom
- Salvador
- San Juan
- Beirut
- Paris
- Nashville
- Republic of Guinea
- Equatorial Guinea
- Nauru
- Qatar
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- Vietnam
- Mestre
- Forte Marghera
- Russia
- Ukraine
- Israel
- Palestine
- Africa
- Giardini della Biennale
- Arsenale di Venezia
- Cameroon
- Switzerland