Every two years, Venice is transformed into the world’s largest stage for contemporary art. On May 9, 2026, the 61st International Art Exhibition, titled In Minor Keys, opened its doors within the Giardini and across the expansive Arsenale. The title suggests depth rather than melancholy: in music, a minor key functions not as a synonym for sadness, but as a space for complex, multilayered, and vibrant experience. The exhibition is curated by Koyo Kouoh, the founder of the RAW Material Company cultural center and the former executive director and chief curator of Zeitz MOCAA. Kouoh’s vision, articulated through the In Minor Keys concept, has resonated deeply throughout the art world. This idea of the exhibition as a space of minor keys—where quiet voices and subtle emotional states are prioritized—is being hailed as a bold step toward a new curatorial language.
The Concept: Jazz as a Curatorial Principle
In Minor Keys takes its name from music, and it is far more than just a beautiful metaphor.
Jazz is unpredictable. It is built on improvisation, pauses, and the dialogue between musicians, and it is this very principle that guided the selection of the 110 participating artists. They were chosen not by chronology, genre, or geography, but based on resonances, affinities, and possible points of convergence between practices, even when they are worlds apart, according to the official press release of the Biennale.
The exhibition is not organized into thematic sections. Instead, it features undercurrents that flow from one piece to another, including themes such as Altars, Processions, Enchantment, Spiritual and Physical Rest, artistic Islands, and Schools—a term reflecting Kouoh’s conviction that artists themselves build the institutions and communities that surround them.
Artists are the conduits to and between minor keys, she wrote in her curatorial statement. Listening to them, rather than speaking for them, is the very essence of the curatorial intent.
The architectural realization of this musical logic was developed by the Cape Town-based firm Wolff Architects. Their solution is simple and precise: broad indigo banners hang from the ceilings of the Central Pavilion and the Arsenale, marking the transitions between zones. They do not strictly divide the space but rather modulate the tempo and atmosphere, preserving each artist’s autonomy. Indigo is the color of the night sky, of depth, and of Africa all at once—a color Kouoh has carried within her all her life.
Minor keys are exotic journeys that appeal to the sensory: they invite viewers to marvel, meditate, dream, rejoice, reflect, and find community, noted Gabe Beckhurst-Feijoo, a curatorial advisor.
Scale: Figures that Speak for Themselves
- 110 artists and collectives—mostly from the Global South: Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Asia.
- 100 national pavilions—some are located in the Giardini and the Arsenale, while others are situated in various locations throughout Venice.
- 7 new participating countries: Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Vietnam are opening their own pavilions at the Biennale for the first time.
- El Salvador—noted specifically as a country participating with its own pavilion for the first time.
- 31 collateral events—taking place as part of the Biennale, spanning various sites in Venice including churches, palazzos, and urban spaces.
- May 9 – November 22, 2026—198 days of operation (inclusive). The awards ceremony will take place on November 22, 2026.
This expansion is an event in its own right: the map of contemporary art is growing, and it is growing in the direction that Kouoh considers paramount.
Artists: Who and Why
Kouoh selected artists based on a single principle: that their practices nurture, support, and reconnect, bringing the sensory, emotional, and subjective dimensions of experience to the fore. Here are some key names from the main exhibition:
- Nick Cave (USA, Chicago): Amalgam (Origin) (2025)—a guardian figure in the Arsenale; a sculpture where resistance finds a joyful, almost celebratory expression.
- Wangechi Mutu (Kenya/USA): SimbiSiren (2026)—a bronze sculpture merging images of a mermaid, a sphinx, a Congo spirit, and a tree root; a hybrid as an image of wholeness.
- Laurie Anderson (USA): a large-scale installation—one of the three main anchors of the exhibition; voice, sound, and space as a single work.
- Kader Attia (France/Germany): explores the concept of repair—the idea of healing and restoration as an artistic and political practice.
- Torkwase Dyson (USA, New York): architecture, water, and the freedom of the body—her practice explores space as a political dimension.
- Alfredo Jaar (Chile/Portugal): has worked with image and justice since 1979; a Biennale veteran—from Pinochet-era Chile to the present day.
- Mama Magdalena Campos-Pons (Cuba/USA): painting, glass, and ceramics—her work explores memory, beauty, and the connection between generations.
- Otobong Nkanga (Nigeria/Belgium): plants, earth, and the connection between the body and the landscape—her practice literally grows through the entire exhibition.
National Pavilions: New Voices and Historical Debuts
National pavilions exist independently of the main exhibition and select their artists autonomously. In 2026, they form a particularly expressive picture—primarily because several countries have made a fundamental choice in favor of the new:
- Great Britain presents Lubaina Himid—the 2017 Turner Prize winner and the second Black artist in the history of the British pavilion; her work explores colonial history and voices that have remained unheard for far too long.
- France features Yto Barrada in its national pavilion for the first time—an artist whose practice touches on memory, childhood, and public space.
- The United States presents sculptor Alma Allen—a debut being watched by the entire art world.
- The Vatican Pavilion is curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers, including Patti Smith in the program.
- Denmark chose Maja Malou Lyse—the youngest representative in the history of the Danish pavilion.
Seven new participating countries—Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Vietnam—are opening their own pavilions for the first time. It is also worth noting El Salvador, which is participating with its own pavilion for the first time as well. This is not just a geographic expansion; it is a change in the very language the Biennale uses to speak to the world.
The Living Heart of the Exhibition: The Procession of Poets and the Garden as Manifesto
One of the most poignant events in the program will be the Procession of Poets in the Giardini gardens. In 1999, Kouoh traveled from Dakar to Timbuktu with nine African poets—this Poetry Train remains one of the formative experiences of her life. In Venice, it is recreated as a live procession: poets walk through the gardens, their voices sounding in the exhibition space. This is a direct historical reference—and, at the same time, a conviction that poetry is capable of crossing the boundaries between eras and cultures.
The second recurring image throughout the exhibition is the garden. Kouoh understood it not just as a space of life and beauty, but of resistance and preservation: historically, it was in gardens that people preserved knowledge, seeds, and identity. Plants literally grow through the display—in Mutu’s sculptures, Nkanga’s installations, and the architectural solutions of the pavilions. Nature exists as an integral part of art, not a backdrop to it.
The music continues. The songs of those who create beauty despite the circumstances. The melodies of those who rebuild from the ruins. The harmonies of those who mend wounds and worlds, from the In Minor Keys curatorial text.
Why This Biennale Matters Now
The Venice Biennale has existed since 1895. Throughout its history, it has reflected eras, political divides, and artistic revolutions. In Minor Keys bets on something else—the idea that the quiet and intimate are no less significant than the loud and monumental. In a world overloaded with information and speed, this exhibition offers an invitation to slow down and tune into a different frequency.
Kouoh’s concept—shifting the focus from declarative statements to sensory perception—largely defined the viewer’s experience. As emphasized in the curatorial text for In Minor Keys: The music continues; the songs of those who create beauty despite the circumstances; the melodies of those who rebuild from the ruins; the harmonies of those who mend wounds and worlds. The Biennale does not seek to explain—it seeks to nourish. This is a rare and honest ambition for an event of such magnitude.
