Venice Biennale 2026: A Personal Tour Through Art, Fashion, and History
A visitor recounts five days in Venice and beyond during the 61st Venice Biennale, titled 'In Minor Keys' and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. The Biennale runs through November 22. Highlights include the Giardini della Biennale, where Kouoh's vision is most vivid, featuring artists like Thania Petersen, Billie Zangewa, Annalee Davis, Beverly Buchanan, and Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons. Country pavilions noted include Brazil (Adriana Varejão), Japan, Germany (Sung Tieu, Henrike Naumann), India, Morocco (Amina Agueznay), and Saudi Arabia (Dana Awartani). Collateral events include Bottega Veneta's sponsorship of 'Lorna Simpson. Third Person' at Punta della Dogana, a performance by Jordan Roth at Palazzo dei Fiori, and the opening of Orient Express Venezia hotel designed by Aline Asmar d'Amman. Exhibitions at Museo Fortuny (Erwin Wurm), Victoria Miro (Flora Yukhnovich), Palazzo Grimani (Amoako Boafo), and Fondazione Dries Van Noten's 'The Only True Protest Is Beauty' are highlighted. Other stops include Ca' Pesaro (Hernan Bas, Jenny Saville), Palazzo Cini (David Salle), and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Outside Venice, Ca' Riviera in Mira opens with 'The Shape of Self', and Lake Garda offers Vittoriale degli Italiani and the André Heller Botanical Garden.
Key facts
- 61st Venice Biennale titled 'In Minor Keys' curated by Koyo Kouoh runs through November 22.
- Koyo Kouoh was the first African woman to curate the Biennale; she died last year.
- Beverly Buchanan's Spirit Jars reference African-American memory jugs.
- Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons created an eight-panel portrait of Kouoh and Toni Morrison.
- Bottega Veneta sponsors 'Lorna Simpson. Third Person' at Punta della Dogana.
- Jordan Roth performed at Palazzo dei Fiori, inspired by Irene di Spilimbergo.
- Orient Express Venezia hotel designed by Aline Asmar d'Amman opened.
- Fondazione Dries Van Noten's inaugural exhibition 'The Only True Protest Is Beauty' curated by Van Noten and Geert Bruloot.
Entities
Artists
- Koyo Kouoh
- Thania Petersen
- Billie Zangewa
- Annalee Davis
- Beverly Buchanan
- Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
- Toni Morrison
- Adriana Varejão
- Sung Tieu
- Henrike Naumann
- Sumakshi Singh
- Amina Agueznay
- Dana Awartani
- Lorna Simpson
- Jordan Roth
- Irene di Spilimbergo
- Titian
- Erwin Wurm
- Flora Yukhnovich
- Amoako Boafo
- Matthew Wong
- Hernan Bas
- Jenny Saville
- David Salle
- Yves Tanguy
- Peggy Guggenheim
- Leonor Fini
- Cecilia Granara
- Yves Scherer
- Chiara Capellini
- Sedef Gali
- Gabriele D'Annunzio
- Marchesa Casati
- Giovanni Boldini
- Man Ray
- August Rodin
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Keith Haring
- Roy Lichtenstein
- Niki de Saint Phalle
- André Heller
- Aline Asmar d'Amman
- Chahan Minassian
- Sheila Hicks
- Lonneke Gordijn
- Ralph Nauta
- Dries Van Noten
- Geert Bruloot
- Christian Lacroix
- Lilla Tabasso
- Joyce J. Scott
- A. Codognato
- Simone Post
- Leonardo Tiezzi
- Riccardo Corò
- Gian Carlo Maroni
- Maria (D'Annunzio's wife)
Institutions
- Venice Biennale
- Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa
- Hotel Danieli
- Four Seasons
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection
- NYU Costume Studies
- Bottega Veneta
- Punta della Dogana
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Performance Space New York
- Louvre
- Palazzo dei Fiori
- Room Mate hotel
- Orient Express Venezia
- Museo Fortuny
- Victoria Miro
- Palazzo Grimani
- Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal
- Caffè Florian
- Ponte dell'Accademia
- Studio Drift
- Fondazione Dries Van Noten
- Palazzo Pisani Moretta
- Palazzo Tiepolo Passi
- Ca' Pesaro
- Palazzo Cini
- Bahamian Pavilion
- Pinchuk Art Centre
- Palazzo Contarini Polignac
- Guggenheim Jeune
- Ca' Riviera
- Cassina Projects
- Grand Hotel Fasano
- Vittoriale degli Italiani
- Osteria Il Pescatore
- André Heller Botanical Garden
- Luna Luna
- Anima (Marrakech)
- Il Fagiano
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Giardini della Biennale
- Central Pavilion
- Arsenale
- Cannaregio district
- Palazzo Bottega Veneta
- Dorsoduro
- Mira
- Riviera del Brenta
- Lake Garda
- Brescia
- Gardone Riviera
- Paris
- Istanbul
- Cape Town
- South Africa
- Barbados
- Cuba
- Austria
- Japan
- Brazil
- Germany
- India
- Morocco
- Saudi Arabia
- Arab world
- Netherlands
- UK
- London
- Marrakech