Somalia’s pavilion criticized

Somalia’s first national pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale is facing criticism from Somali artists before the exhibition opens in May. (artnews.com) ARTnews reported on April 14 that artists in Somalia said the pavilion’s organizers “neither meaningfully consulted nor included” representatives of the country’s art scene. A statement came from the Mogadishu-based Somali Arts Foundation and, after a correction, ARTnews said it was issued with Arlo Artspace, Shaneema Banaadir, and Baciid Center. (artnews.com) The pavilion, titled “SADDEXLEEY,” includes Ayan Farah, Asmaa Jama, and Warsan Shire. ARTnews said Farah is based in Stockholm, Jama in Bristol, and Shire in London, while the pavilion website describes the project as Somalia’s first Venice presentation. (artnews.com, somaliapavilion.so) The organizers have presented the show as a landmark debut for Somalia at one of contemporary art’s biggest international exhibitions. La Biennale di Venezia says the 61st International Art Exhibition runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7, and 8. (somaliapavilion.so, labiennale.org) The dispute centers on who gets to represent a country in Venice when artists at home say they were left out of the process. The Somali Arts Foundation said the pavilion failed to include artists based in Somalia and called it a “private opportunity,” while also questioning how it was funded. (artnews.com) The pavilion’s team is led by commissioner Abdirahman Yusuf and co-curators Mohamed Mire, who works at Fotografiska in Stockholm, and Venice-based project manager Fabio Scrivanti. The pavilion website says the exhibition will be staged at Palazzo Caboto in Venice. (artnews.com, somaliapavilion.so) On its own site, the pavilion says it will present Somali perspectives through installation, sound, and material practice, rooted in poetry, memory, and oral tradition. The title refers to a Somali poetic form built around a triadic structure. (somaliapavilion.so, artnews.com) ARTnews also reported that one artist said she had declined an invitation from Mire to participate. The publication said the pavilion’s organizers did not immediately respond to its request for comment. (artnews.com) For now, Somalia’s Biennale debut is arriving with two competing claims attached to it: official first-time national visibility in Venice, and a public challenge from artists in Mogadishu over who was asked to speak for Somali art. (labiennale.org, artnews.com)