ArtReview Editors Pick Off-Site Pavilions at 61st Venice Biennale

ArtReview editors highlight key off-site exhibitions at the 61st Venice Biennale (9 May–22 November 2026). Li Yi-Fan's film 'Screen Melancholy' at Palazzo delle Prigioni uses motion capture and a free-trial game engine to explore digital alienation. Roberto Diago's Cuban Pavilion 'Free Men' at Il Giardino Bianco features rusted iron heads and political texts, critiquing Cuba's authoritarianism amid ongoing US threats and internal repression. The group show 'Canicula' at Complesso dell'Ospedaletto, the final chapter of Fondazione In Between Art Film's trilogy, includes site-specific works by Janis Rafa, Yuyan Wang, and others. 'Official. Unofficial. Belarus.' at La Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista, organized by the exiled Belarus Free Theatre, confronts state surveillance with works like a surveillance crucifix and banned books. The Holy See Pavilion 'The Ear is the Eye of the Soul' at Giardino Mistico dei Carmelitani Scalzi offers a spatial audio experience with works by Laraaji, Kali Malone, and Brian Eno. The Ecuador Pavilion features Tawna's films on colonial violence and queer identity, alongside Oscar Santillán's speculative sculptures.