UAE pavilion goes acoustic
The UAE pavilion at the Venice Biennale will present 'Washwasha,' a project built around whispers, echoes and shared histories expressed through sound rather than conventional visual spectacle (thenationalnews.com). Coverage frames the presentation as sensory and acoustic, inviting listeners to experience layered sonic narratives inside the pavilion (thenationalnews.com).
The United Arab Emirates pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale is turning to sound instead of spectacle, with a group exhibition called *Washwasha* built around listening. (nationalpavilionuae.org) The show was announced on April 7, 2026, by the National Pavilion UAE, which said *Washwasha* will bring together six artists: Mays Albaik, Jawad Al Malhi, Farah Al Qasimi, Alaa Edris, Lamya Gargash and Taus Makhacheva. (nationalpavilionuae.org) Curator Bana Kattan said the exhibition takes its name from the Arabic word for whispering and examines contemporary soundscapes in the United Arab Emirates through memory, movement and fast urban change. Kattan is curator and associate head of exhibitions at Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. (nationalpavilionuae.org 1) (nationalpavilionuae.org 2) The pavilion’s statement ties the project to oral storytelling, poetry circles and local broadcasting, arguing that sound has long served as a shared social space across the Emirates. It says the exhibition will compare those collective practices with newer forms of technologically mediated listening. (nationalpavilionuae.org) That places the UAE entry squarely inside the 61st International Art Exhibition’s wider frame, *In Minor Keys*, the title set by the late curator Koyo Kouoh. La Biennale di Venezia said the exhibition will still go ahead with the support of Kouoh’s family. (labiennale.org) The 2026 edition opens to the public on May 9 and runs through November 22, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. La Biennale says the exhibition will span the Giardini, the Arsenale and other sites across Venice. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) The UAE said 2026 will mark its ninth participation in the International Art Exhibition, giving the project the weight of an established national program rather than a one-off experiment. The pavilion also said the presentation will be accompanied by a publication of essays and conversations about sound from historical, personal and theoretical angles. (nationalpavilionuae.org) This year’s Biennale will be crowded even by Venice standards: La Biennale says there will be 99 national participations and 31 collateral events, with seven countries joining for the first time and El Salvador appearing for the first time with its own pavilion. In that field, the UAE is betting that visitors will lean in and listen. (labiennale.org)
