GAS Foundation Collaboration

Guest Artists Space Foundation, the Nigerian nonprofit founded by Yinka Shonibare, will take part in the 2026 Venice Biennale’s main exhibition rather than a national pavilion. (guestartistsspace.com) The foundation announced the invitation on February 25, 2026, and the Biennale lists the 61st International Art Exhibition, titled *In Minor Keys*, from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. (guestartistsspace.com) (labiennale.org) La Biennale di Venezia said the 2026 edition will include 111 invited participants in the main exhibition, spanning individual artists, duos, collectives and artist-led organizations. (labiennale.org) That places Guest Artists Space Foundation inside the curator’s central exhibition, which is separate from the Biennale’s 99 national participations and 31 collateral events announced on March 4, 2026. (labiennale.org) (bta.bg) The distinction matters in Venice because national pavilions are organized by states, while the main exhibition is shaped by the Biennale curator and can include institutions and artist-led platforms alongside individual artists. (bta.bg) (labiennale.org) Guest Artists Space Foundation said its Biennale work is led by Ann Marie Peña, with support from Shonibare, Yinka Shonibare Foundation chief executive Belinda Holden and Guest Artists Space Foundation executive director Moni Aisida. (guestartistsspace.com) The project also names Samantha Russell as manager, MOE+ Art Architecture as installation designer, Filmwrights and Julie Buckland on film production, and Sound Disposition with Funmilola Ogushina on sound design. (guestartistsspace.com) Guest Artists Space Foundation was founded in 2019 and runs residencies and public programs across two Nigerian sites, one in Lagos and another in Ijebu, Ogun State, focused on research, collaboration and education. (guestartistsspace.com 1) (guestartistsspace.com 2) The 2026 exhibition is proceeding after the death of curator Koyo Kouoh in May 2025, and La Biennale di Venezia said it is carrying out the show as she conceived it, with the support of her family. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) For Guest Artists Space Foundation, the Venice presentation turns a residency platform into one of the exhibition’s invited participants, putting an institution built in Lagos and Ogun State into the Biennale’s core program when the show opens on May 9. (guestartistsspace.com) (labiennale.org)