Koyo Kouoh's absence looms over 2026 Venice Biennale

The 2026 Venice Biennale Arte opens with the significant absence of curator Koyo Kouoh, who passed away before completing her planned tour of Italy. President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco told La Repubblica that Kouoh had intended to meet Italian artists at La Scala in Milan, San Carlo in Naples, and Massimo in Palermo. The tour never started, and her curatorial team—Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira, Rasha Salti (advisor), Siddhartha Mitter (editor-in-chief), and Rory Tsapayi (research assistant)—has declined interviews until the exhibition opens, raising questions about dialogue and diplomacy. Italian representation includes Theo Eshetu in Kouoh's selection, Lara Favaretto (Fondazione Bulgari) and Maria Cristina Crespo in collateral events, Stefano Cagol in the Nauru Pavilion, and Chiara Camoni in the Italian Pavilion. Marinella Senatore will show at The Human Safety at Procuratie. The article criticizes Italy's focus on Futurism and Marinetti over contemporary art, citing a 2015 exhibition "Nero su bianco" at the American Academy in Rome as a model for addressing marginality and colonialism.