Vietnam debuts national pavilion

Vietnam will open its first official national pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale in May 2026, ending decades without a state pavilion at the art exhibition. (artasiapacific.com) The pavilion is titled *Viet Nam: Art in the Global Flow* and will be installed at Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon, a restored palace in Venice’s San Marco district. The 61st International Art Exhibition runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7, and 8. (artasiapacific.com) (labiennale.org) Vietnam’s presentation centers on artist Lê Hữu Hiếu and curator Đỗ Tường Linh, according to Vietnamese state and exhibition listings published ahead of the opening. Vietnamese press reports say Hiếu will show a solo installation titled *Tằm (In Minor Keys)* at Ca’ Faccanon during the Biennale dates. (vietnamnews.vn) (artrabbit.com) At Venice, national pavilions function as country presentations that sit alongside the Biennale’s large international exhibition. Some countries have permanent buildings in the Giardini, while others mount temporary shows across the city, which is where Vietnam is entering. (labiennale.org) (universes.art) That makes this debut less about a first Vietnamese artist in Venice than a first official national platform under the Biennale system. Lê Hữu Hiếu had already shown work in Venice in 2021, but not through a national pavilion recognized in this way. (artasiapacific.com) (english.vtv.vn) The 2026 edition is unusually shaped by loss as well as expansion. La Biennale says the exhibition will proceed under the title *In Minor Keys* in line with the curatorial vision of Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2025 after being appointed curator of the 61st edition. (labiennale.org) (biennialassociation.org) Vietnamese broadcasters and newspapers say the 2026 Biennale will include 99 countries and territories, placing Vietnam’s entry inside one of the broadest international art gatherings on the calendar. Those reports frame the pavilion as a state-backed cultural presentation aimed at introducing Vietnamese contemporary art to a larger global audience. (english.vtv.vn) (dtinews.dantri.com.vn) The venue itself is part of the story. Italian reports say Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon reopened in 2026 after more than a year of restoration work and was assigned to host exhibitions and international projects beginning with Biennale Arte 2026. (finestresullarte.info) (initaly.it) So when the Biennale opens on May 9, Vietnam will not just be adding another off-site show in Venice. It will be taking a place, for the first time, in the national-pavilion map that helps define how countries are seen at the world’s most watched contemporary art exhibition. (labiennale.org) (artasiapacific.com)