Venice Biennale 2026

Breaking news, analysis, interviews and more from the world-famous exhibition, including The Art Newsaper’s on-the-ground coverage

Latest

‘Exclusion can only satisfy the ego’: Venice Biennale president hits out at critics amid Russia and Israel controversy

At a conference on 6 May, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco said that calls to ban countries from the Biennale would go against its mission to be ‘the place where the world comes together’

James Imamabout 15 hours ago

Major protests take place at Venice Biennale previews

More than 200 people attended a protest outside the Israeli pavilion, while the activists groups Pussy Riot and FEMEN led a demonstration at Russia’s

S&M-inspired Greek Pavilion in Venice confronts its fascist chains

Andreas Angelidakis's Biennale exhibition honours the murdered drag artist Zak Kostopoulos, while confronting the pavilion's fraught history

Anny Shawabout 16 hours ago

New Zealand's Venice Biennale pavilion explores the secret life of birds

Fiona Pardington is showing her towering portraits of the country's endangered and extinct bird life

Tim Stoneabout 17 hours ago

Cultural workers at Venice Biennale to strike over Israel’s participation

A rally is also planned to take place in the city on the same day, 8 May

Gareth Harris1 day ago

Diary

How sweet it is: chocolate Russell Crowe at the Malta Pavilion

A chocolate gladiator features in Valletta-based artist Charlie Cauchi's film and accompanying installation in the Arsenale

The Art Newspaperabout 16 hours ago

Nature is healing? Seagull lays eggs in the Giardini during Venice Biennale preview

The new mother may have upstaged some of the artwork on show

The Art Newspaperabout 18 hours ago

Alvaro Barrington takes a road trip to the Venice Biennale

The artist's contribution to In Minor Keys includes a decked out truck driven from London to Venice

Guides

Our pick of the best pavilions at the 61st Venice Biennale

From splashing sewage to moments of zen, here is our selection of top national presentations in the Giardini, Arsenale and across town

Venice Biennale 2026: all the national pavilions, artists and curators so far

The latest announcements of the key players representing their countries at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia

Venice Biennale curatorial team reveal how they are bringing the late Koyo Kouoh's vision to life

The team announced the 111 artists and artist collectives—many of whom come from the Global South—that will be included in the exhibition "In Minor Keys"

Luca De Michelis, chief executive of Marsilio Arte, on his favourite spots in Venice beyond the Biennale

The head of the Venice-based publisher and exhibition organising company shares his suggestions for places to eat, shop and explore

Features

In Minor Keys: how Venice's international exhibition was brought to life after the death of artistic director Koyo Kouoh

Our guide to the themes and strands of this year's international exhibition, and some of the key artists on display

The Venice Biennale has long been a sales platform—now no one is pretending otherwise

From a Christie's exhibition to a posthumous display of Mel Ramos, this year numerous explicitly commercial shows signal a shift in attitude

Exhibitions

Shirin Neshat's Venice exhibition explores identity, exile and a social media tragedy

For her show at the Palazzo Marin, the artist found inspiration in the story of fellow Iranian Nasim Aghdam, whose dispute with YouTube escalated into violence

Simon Bainbridgeabout 15 hours ago

Muscle memory: Natasha Tontey’s wild Venice installation explodes perceptions of Indonesian history

The artist’s B-movie inspired project at Ateneo Veneto reimagines the story of Len Karamoy, an overlooked member of the resistance movement Permesta

Artist interviews

Lubaina Himid on capturing the 'uneasiness' of Britain for her Venice Biennale pavilion

The artist, who was born in Zanzibar, describes Britain as having "all the hallmarks of safety and calm, but has an underlying loathing of the Other"

Louisa Buckabout 17 hours ago

Sound-based Holy See pavilion opens at Venice Biennale as Vatican’s contemporary art ambitions grow

The Vatican meanwhile recently opened a contemporary art space, which next year will feature work by artists including Yan Pei-Ming

Polish pavilion at Venice Biennale explores fluidity of language with film recorded underwater

Deaf and hearing performers worked on the project, filmed in a Warsaw swimming pool

Parasol Unit returns with a showcase of women from Central Asia and beyond

The non-profit London space, which closed in 2020, enters a new era at the Venice Biennale with an exhibition of 11 female artists

Art of Luxuryinterview

Lotus Kang channels desire into Bvlgari's Venice Biennale pavilion

The Canada-born, New York-based artist creates works informed by everything from industrial rubber to rat pups

The US pavilion's curator on the controversial choice of Alma Allen for the Venice Biennale

The artist’s geologically based works are the ideal choice as the US celebrates 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, says Jeffrey Uslip

'I wanted to catch the desperation': Dries Verhoeven on turning the Dutch pavilion into a bunker for the Venice Biennale

The open, light-filled Dutch pavilion has been turned into a dark bunker-like space, where visitors will experience a raw vocal performance

Arthur Jafa: ‘America has always been a demonic state. And we love it’

Jafa and Richard Prince come together for the first time in an explosive new exhibition which shows their shared interest in appropriation and the real America

Lee Ufan: ‘I try to bring together those things which are made and unmade’

The South Korean artist, whose work is on show in Venice's Piazza San Marco during the Biennale, describes how his work combines the natural and industrial, and why he taught himself to draw breath—literally

Diaryblog

‘She had a fresh, informed eye’: mural depicting late Venice Biennale curator Koyo Kouoh displayed in lagoon city

Derrick Adams’ piece features “beams of gold signifying the brilliance and reach” of the curator’s influence

The Bahamas returns to the Venice Biennale with a joy-filled posthumous collaboration

Lavar Munroe is showing work alongside that of his mentor, the late John Beadle, celebrating the islands' community and carnival traditions

Mind the baby! Visitors to the Japanese Venice Biennale pavilion will be asked to look after dolls

Ei Arakawa-Nash's exhibition explores the nature of caregiving, inspired by becoming a parent to twins

Venice exhibition of site-specific films aims to capture the hyper stimulating times we are living in

The show "Canicula" is the third in a series presented by Fondazione In Between Art Film

‘We are complicit’: Austrian artist Florentina Holzinger’s immersive Venice Biennale pavilion brings apocalypse to the city

This year’s Austrian pavilion echoes the science-fiction film “Waterworld”, with a side order of body horror

‘It’s really important that the public is not just a silent witness’: Marina Abramović on her Venice Biennale exhibition

The self-styled “grandmother of performance art” is the first female living artist to exhibit at the Gallerie dell’Accademia—and she wants everyone to join in

Iran will not participate at the 2026 Venice Biennale

Iran appears to have withdrawn from the 61st edition of the event, amid rising tensions and fears of renewed conflict in the Middle East

Morocco debuts at the Biennale with an exploration of its age-old craft traditions

Artist Amina Agueznay has created a 300 sq m site-specific installation in the Arsenale

Venice Biennale’s jury resigns

The five-person jury resigned amid an escalating dispute over the participation of Israel and Russia at this year’s Biennale

Georg Baselitz, German artist who turned figurative painting on its head, has died, aged 88

Baselitz’s death comes on the eve of a major exhibition of his latest paintings at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini concurrent with the Venice Biennale

East Africa meets Western Europe as Michael Armitage takes on Venice's Palazzo Grassi

The sweeping exhibition "The Promise of Change" demonstrates the painter’s fascination with art history and mythology, and his movement between dreams and documentary

Israel’s foreign ministry accuses Venice Biennale's jury of ‘politicising’ exhibition

The Biennale's five-member international jury announced on Thursday that it would not award prizes to countries “whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court”

FKA Twigs and Brian Eno among artists included in the Vatican's sound-based 2026 Venice Biennale pavilion

The Holy See pavilion will honour the the life and legacy of the Benedictine nun, Saint Hildegard of Bingen

Members of European Parliament call on EU to pull Venice Biennale funding over Russian participation

Dozens of MEPs signed a letter decrying Russia’s plan to return to the Biennale and urging the suspension of all EU funding

Nearly 200 Venice Biennale participants sign letter demanding cancellation of Israeli pavilion

Signatories include artists Alfredo Jaar, Yto Barrada, Rosana Paulino, Meriem Bennani and Cauleen Smith, along with curators such as Binna Choi and Carles Guerra

Pussy Riot slams Russia’s return to Venice Biennale

Russia’s decision to put on a show in Venice has prompted criticism from Russian dissidents and Ukrainian artists

Venice Biennale details revealed, Beatriz González and Tracey Emin in London—podcast

Ben Luke speaks to Jane Morris about the 2026 Biennale artists and framework, takes a tour of the late González's show at the Barbican. Plus, a conversation about a long-hidden Emin work

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by David Clack and Alexander Morrison

Khaled Sabsabi—who had his Australia Pavilion cancelled and reinstated—will also exhibit in main Venice Biennale show

His double appearance in Venice is “a major historic first for an Australian artist”, the government body Creative Australia says

South Africa pavilion will be empty at 2026 Venice Biennale, culture ministry says

The announcement comes after a court dismissed Gabrielle Goliath’s attempt to have her project reinstated—a ruling that has been met with anger by members of South Africa’s art world

Artist Gabrielle Goliath’s attempt to reinstate cancelled Venice Biennale pavilion dismissed by court

The artist and the curator Ingrid Masondo will be challenging the decision handed down by a judge from South Africa’s high court