Venice previews stack up

Venice’s 2026 art preview week is filling fast, with the official Biennale opening alongside at least two newly announced parallel shows. (labiennale.org) (veniceartfactory.org) La Biennale di Venezia says the 61st International Art Exhibition, titled *In Minor Keys*, will run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. The exhibition is being carried out with the support of curator Koyo Kouoh’s family after her death, according to the Biennale’s 2026 homepage. (labiennale.org) The Biennale said on February 25 that *In Minor Keys* will include 111 invited participants, including individual artists, duos, collectives and artist-led organizations, across the Giardini, the Arsenale and other Venice sites. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) Guest Artists Space Foundation said it will present a collaborative project inside that main exhibition, also under the title *In Minor Keys*, during the Biennale preview. The Lagos-linked foundation described its inclusion as an invitation from Kouoh to treat residency work as a form of artistic practice rather than only support infrastructure. (guestartistsspace.com) In a separate announcement, Eva and Franco Mattes said they will open *RAGE BAIT* during the same preview stretch in Venice. Venice Art Factory lists the show at Palazzo Franchetti from May 5 to June 30, 2026, and at Le Cabanon on Giudecca from May 5 to May 31, 2026. (veniceartfactory.org) Art Magazine AI said *RAGE BAIT* will include new installations, videos and generative artificial intelligence works by the Italian duo, and that Autotelic Foundation is presenting the exhibition. The show is curated by Nadim Samman and Luisa Haustein, according to the same announcement and a video posted by Autotelic Foundation. (art-magazine.ai) (youtube.com) The result is a familiar Venice pattern: the Biennale’s central exhibition sets the calendar, and museums, foundations and private venues cluster their openings around the accreditation week when curators, collectors and press are already in the city. The Biennale’s own schedule puts the awards ceremony and inauguration on May 9, after three days of pre-opening events. (labiennale.org) Kouoh was appointed curator of the 2026 edition in November 2024, becoming the first African woman chosen to lead the Biennale’s international exhibition, according to La Biennale and Artsy. Her exhibition title remained in place after her death, and the Biennale said the project would proceed with the team she selected. (labiennale.org) (artsy.net) (labiennale.org) By early May, that means visitors arriving for the preview will move between the official *In Minor Keys* exhibition and a widening ring of collateral programming across Venice. For now, the calendar already points to a crowded first week anchored by the Biennale’s May 6 to 8 preview and May 9 opening. (labiennale.org) (veniceartfactory.org)