Vietnam debuts in Venice

Vietnam will mount its first national pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026, giving the country an official exhibition space at the art world’s biggest recurring international showcase. (artasiapacific.com) The pavilion is titled “Viet Nam: Art in the Global Flow” and will open at Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon, a restored palace in Venice’s San Marco district. The Biennale itself runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. (artasiapacific.com) (labiennale.org) Curator Đỗ Tường Linh said the exhibition will trace contemporary Vietnamese art in a global setting through work by 10 artists, including Lê Hữu Hiếu, Nguyễn Thành Chương and Đoàn Thị Thu Hương. Art Asia Pacific reported that the show spans mixed-media installation and lacquer painting. (artasiapacific.com) At Venice, countries usually appear through national pavilions in the Giardini, the Arsenale or rented sites across the city, and the 2026 edition lists 99 national participations. A pavilions directory for this edition identifies Viet Nam among the new national participants. (labiennale.org) (universes.art) That changes Vietnam’s position at the Biennale from occasional presence by individual artists to a state-backed presentation with its own venue and curatorial frame. Vietnamese state media described the move as the country’s first independent art project and dedicated exhibition space at the event. (english.vtv.vn) One confirmed project inside the pavilion is Lê Hữu Hiếu’s installation “Tằm,” or “silkworm,” which Art Asia Pacific said includes 12 guardian figures, a house-like structure and a large lacquer painting. The work uses jackfruit wood, gold leaf and eggshell, and will also incorporate live silkworms. (artasiapacific.com) Vietnam News reported that Hiếu’s presentation is a solo installation at the pavilion and said it will run for the full Biennale dates, from May 9 to November 22. The paper also said he previously showed “Soul Energy” in Venice in 2021 at Arsenale Nord. (vietnamnews.vn) The venue is part of the story too. Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon reopened after more than a year of restoration and is being repositioned for exhibitions and cultural events, with Biennale projects among its first major uses. (english.vtv.vn) (finestresullarte.info) The 2026 Biennale’s international exhibition is titled “In Minor Keys,” and La Biennale said it will feature 111 invited participants across its main curated show. Vietnam’s pavilion will sit alongside that larger exhibition and the other national presentations spread across Venice. (labiennale.org) For Vietnam, the next marker is no longer the announcement but the opening in May, when its first official pavilion joins the Biennale map after decades of the event running without one. (artasiapacific.com) (labiennale.org)