Vietnam debuts in Venice

Vietnam will appear at the Venice Biennale for the first time in 2026, joining the 61st edition with a national pavilion in a restored Venetian palace. (artasiapacific.com) La Biennale di Venezia says the 61st International Art Exhibition will run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7, and 8. Vietnam’s show will be staged at Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon, outside the main Giardini and Arsenale sites where many national presentations spill across the city. (labiennale.org; artasiapacific.com) The pavilion is titled “Viet Nam: Art in the Global Flow,” and multiple reports say it is organized under Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture. Vietnamese state media and art listings identify Ma The Anh as commissioner and Đỗ Tường Linh as curator. (artasiapacific.com; arte.it; vietnamnews.vn) The Venice Biennale is the world’s oldest large-scale contemporary art biennial, and national pavilions function like country-led exhibitions inside the larger event. For countries without a permanent building in Venice, debuting often means renting or restoring a palazzo elsewhere in the city and using it as a temporary pavilion. (labiennale.org; theartnewspaper.com) Vietnam’s entry comes as the 2026 Biennale expands its international map under the title “In Minor Keys,” the exhibition conceived by the late curator Koyo Kouoh. La Biennale said after Kouoh’s death that it would carry out her exhibition with the support of her family. (labiennale.org; news.artnet.com) Reports on the pavilion’s format differ. ArtAsiaPacific described “Viet Nam: Art in the Global Flow” as the national pavilion, while Vietnam News said artist Lê Hữu Hiếu’s installation “Tằm (In Minor Keys)” would be the highlight, and some listings frame the presentation as a solo project within the pavilion. (artasiapacific.com; vietnamnews.vn; fragmentation.fr) Other published listings point to a broader roster. Pikasus, an Italian art news site tracking 2026 pavilions, listed 10 artists for Vietnam, including Nguyễn Thanh Chương, Đoàn Thị Thu Hương, Bùi Hữu Hùng, Trịnh Tuân and Lê Hữu Hiếu, suggesting the final installation may combine a headline project with a larger group presentation. (pikasus.com) The venue itself is part of the story. Vietnamese outlets said Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon reopened after more than a year of restoration, and that the five-century-old building is being repurposed for international exhibitions and cultural events. (english.vtv.vn; dtinews.dantri.com.vn) That gives Vietnam a visible address in Venice at a moment when more countries are using off-site palazzos to establish a foothold at the Biennale without a permanent Giardini building. The debut puts the country into the same national-pavilion system that has long shaped how states present contemporary art on an international stage. (theartnewspaper.com; labiennale.org) When the Biennale opens in May, Vietnam’s first official pavilion will test how a country better known in Venice through individual artists and collateral events translates that presence into a state-backed national debut. (artasiapacific.com; labiennale.org)