'Art world Olympics' opens
The Venice Biennale, often called the “Olympics of the art world,” runs from May 9 to Nov. 22, with preview days May 6-8. The world’s first art biennale is held every two years.Events span the Giardini and Arsenale, as well as venues across Venice and nearby islands. The international exhibition curated by the late Koyo Kouoh includes 111 artists and collectives. The only invited Korean artist in the main show is Yo-E Ryou. Korean diaspora artists including Michael Joo and Gala Porras-Kim are also on the list.
The biennale consists of the international exhibition, titled “In Minor Keys,” and national pavilion presentations. More than 100 national pavilions are operating this year, including 30 permanent pavilions in the Giardini. Qatar, newly added to the permanent pavilion group, will exhibit in a tent-like structure on its future building site because construction is not complete. Dozens of nonpermanent pavilions — including those of China, India, Argentina, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are spread across the city. The main exhibition runs simultaneously at the Giardini and the Arsenale. Seven countries — Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Vietnam — are participating for the first time. El Salvador is also making its debut with its own exhibition space.
Who is the artistic director?
The artistic director of the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026 is Koyo Kouoh (1967-2025). Born in Cameroon and raised in Zurich, she was appointed in late 2024 as the first African-born woman to lead the biennale. From 2019, she served as executive director and chief curator of Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA). In May 2025, she died suddenly at age 57 ahead of the opening. Organizers said it was the first time in the biennale’s history that an artistic director died before the exhibition opened, and they decided to proceed as planned. A five-member curatorial team assembled by Kouoh is carrying out her plans. 
In Minor Keys
The theme, “In Minor Keys,” draws on the musical concept of the minor key. Kouoh urged audiences to “listen to the frequency of the minor key.” She wrote that amid “uneasy noise and confusion sweeping the world,” music continues — “songs of those who create beauty in tragedy, melodies of those who try to rise again from ruins, and harmonies of those who seek to heal wounds and restore the world.” The title signals a shift away from spectacle toward a slower, deeper approach to art, framing it as a space for reflection, recovery and connection. The main exhibition avoids rigid sections, linking more than 110 participating artists through loose relationships shaped by different places and contexts, expanding what it calls a “relational geography.” It unfolds around overlapping motifs including shrines, procession, schools, rest and performances.
Women and performance
Women artists are especially prominent. Britain’s pavilion features Lubaina Himid, a Black woman who won the Turner Prize in 2017, and France’s pavilion features Yto Barrada. Women artists also stand out in pavilions including Austria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, Cyprus and Denmark. Performance is emphasized in several national presentations, including those of South Korea, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Awards likely moved to November after jury resigns
The Venice Biennale awards include the Golden Lion (for national pavilion, best artist and lifetime achievement), the Silver Lion and special mentions. The awards ceremony is typically held at the opening. This year, however, all jurors resigned, making it likely the ceremony will be held at the November closing. Awards may also be decided by audience voting rather than a jury. The five jurors, including Solange Oliveira Farkas, were reported to have clashed with organizers over the participation of Russia and Israel.The jurors had previously said that, to defend human rights, they would exclude from judging any national pavilion from a country whose leader has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Russian President Vladimir Putin is under an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes related to the invasion of Ukraine, and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the subject of an ICC prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant over allegations related to Gaza. Reports said Netanyahu remained at the request stage, leaving any exclusion to the jurors’ judgment.
War-related disputes spark controversy
Russia did not participate in the 2022 and 2024 Venice Biennale after its invasion of Ukraine, but it is returning in 2026. Russia opened a permanent pavilion in the Giardini in 1914. It is reported that, due to opposition from the European Union, Russia will open only during the preview and then close afterward. During the 2024 preview, Israel’s pavilion was voluntarily closed by artist Ruth Patir and curators, citing the situation in Gaza. Afterward, the Israeli government was reported to have added a contract condition in the artist selection process stating the pavilion cannot be closed. This year, Israel’s Giardini pavilion is closed for renovations, and it will exhibit at the Arsenale. Iran notified organizers it will not attend.
South Africa’s pavilion will be empty for the first time in 15 years. The South African government canceled its participation in January, saying artist Gabrielle Goliath’s work “Elegy” could “cause division.” The work mourns victims including Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada, who died in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023. The piece will be shown at Chiesa di Sant’Antonin, a church built in the 7th century in Venice’s Castello district.
Australia’s pavilion saw the participation of Lebanese Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino canceled over controversy surrounding Sabsabi’s 2007 work “You,” which includes footage of a Hezbollah leader’s speech. After continued backlash from the art world, their participation was ultimately reinstated.
The United States faced fallout after the Trump administration changed biennale support conditions, removing equity-related standards and emphasizing “promoting American values” and the “ability to demonstrate American exceptionalism.” Some selected artists refused to participate. Alma Allen will lead the U.S. pavilion.
What about the Korea Pavilion and Korean artists?
The Korea Pavilion theme is “Liberation Space: Fortress and Nest.” It revisits the “liberation space” period from 1945 to 1948 — a transitional era after Japanese colonial rule as a new state was sought — and extends it as an ongoing question, re-sensing and carrying it forward in aesthetic terms. Curator Choi Bitna said at a March news conference that she focused on 1995, when the Korea Pavilion was established. “That was when the Gwangju Biennale first opened and Korea National University of Arts was founded. Demolition of the former Japanese Government-General building also began. It led into the start of a civilian government. It was a moment of transition,” she said. Artists Choi Go-eun and Cho Hyeri will present sculptural installation and durational works titled “Meridian” and “Bearing,” respectively. Creators and activists from cultural and social fields, including novelist Han Kang, will participate as fellows. The Korea Pavilion is also pursuing collaboration with the Japan Pavilion, the first such cooperation between the two pavilions. Korean artist Yo-E Ryou was invited to the main exhibition. Gala Porras-Kim is undertaking a joint project with the Victoria and Albert Museum. Artist Choi Jeong-hwa will participate as a collaborator in the Japan Pavilion, and artist Cho Guk-hyeon was invited to the Tanzania Pavilion. Artist Hong Eun-ju will take part in an opening performance at the Taiwan Pavilion. Exhibitions involving Lee Ufan, Yoon Song-yi, Shim Moon-seup and Lotus Kang are also planned.
