The first images from the Venice Biennale 2026 are arriving, following the press day that preceded the three-day preview reserved for insiders. The 61st International Art Exhibition, titled In Minor Keys, will officially open to the public from May 9 to Nov. 22, 2026, spreading across the Giardini, the Arsenale and various venues in the lagoon city. May 6, 7 and 8 will be the pre-opening days, while the opening ceremony is set for Saturday, May 9.
This edition is distinguished by an element that deeply marks its identity: the posthumous realization of the curatorial project of Koyo Kouoh, who died prematurely in May 2025. Appointed artistic director of the Visual Arts Sector in November 2024, Kouoh had already defined in detail the structure of the exhibition, from the theoretical text to the selection of artists, from the spatial layout to the graphic identity. The Biennale decided, with the family’s consent, to carry on his project in its entirety, with the aim of preserving and spreading his vision. Taking up this legacy was the curator’s chosen team, consisting of Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira and Rasha Salti as advisors, Siddhartha Mitter as editor-in-chief and Rory Tsapayi as research assistant. It was they who presented the guidelines of the work developed together with Kouoh at Ca’ Giustinian in Venice, restoring the sense of a collective and shared journey.
The title In Minor Keys reflects this approach: a non-hierarchical composition, built by resonances and affinities rather than rigid categories. The exhibition brings together 111 participants including artists, collectives, and organizations from diverse geographic contexts, from Salvador to Dakar, from San Juan to Beirut, to Paris and Nashville. The goal is to build a relational geography based on encounters and the possibility of convergences between even distant practices.
The conceptual core is articulated through a series of motifs that are not configured as traditional thematic sections, but as subterranean lines that run through the entire exhibition. These include “Are” or “Shrines,” dedicated to two figures central to Kouoh: Issa Samb and Beverly Buchanan. The former, an artist and co-founder of Laboratoire Agit’Art in Dakar, was a mentor and point of reference for the curator; the latter developed a sculptural and Land Art practice capable of interrogating memory and territory through an anti-monumental approach.
Alongside this core is the procession motif, inspired by Afro-Atlantic traditions and carnival choreography. Here the audience is invited not only to observe, but to participate, entering into a collective movement that suspends and reworks established hierarchies and narratives. The works move between transhistorical and speculative dimensions, reworking symbols and archives. Another key axis is represented by “Schools,” understood as ecosystems of learning and regeneration, rooted in territories but open to a transnational dimension. In these spaces, art is intertwined with social responsibility, proposing alternative models to the logic of the market.
The exhibition also addresses themes related to colonial history, environmental disaster, and geological memory, relating these elements to spaces of resistance and regeneration such as the Creole garden and courtyard. These places become metaphors for self-sufficiency and relationship with the nonhuman, while offering spaces for rest and contemplation.
In-depth reviews will come in the coming days. For now, without indulging in warm impressions, here are some images from the international exhibition.
first three: 4-13 14-26 27-29 Jacopo Salvi
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