Venice Biennale Jury Named

La Biennale di Venezia has named the five-person jury that will decide the top prizes at the 2026 Venice Biennale, setting the final awards panel ahead of the May opening. (labiennale.org) Solange Oliveira Farkas will serve as president, joined by curator Zoe Butt, museum director Elvira Dyangani Ose, educator Marta Kuzma, and scholar Giovanna Zapperi. La Biennale said its board approved the appointments on the recommendation of curator Koyo Kouoh. (labiennale.org) (artnews.com) The jury will award the Golden Lion for best national participation, the Golden Lion for best participant in the international exhibition, the Silver Lion for a promising young participant, and up to two special mentions in each section. The ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, May 9, 2026, the exhibition’s opening day. (labiennale.org) Those prizes sit at the center of the Biennale’s competitive structure because they cover both the curated international exhibition and the country-run pavilions spread across the Giardini, the Arsenale, and sites across Venice. La Biennale said the 2026 edition will include 100 national participations and 31 collateral events. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) This year’s main exhibition, titled *In Minor Keys*, is the 61st International Art Exhibition and will run from May 9 to November 22, 2026. La Biennale has said the show will feature 110 invited participants in the Giardini and Arsenale. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) Kouoh, the Cameroon-born curator and executive director of Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, was appointed to organize the 2026 edition in December 2024. La Biennale presented the artist list for her exhibition in February 2026 and said the jury would be announced in April. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) The jury lineup also gives national pavilions a fixed timetable for prize decisions as countries finalize installations and announcements before the May 6-8 pre-opening. ARTnews reported that the panel will decide the Golden Lions for the 2026 edition, one of the art world’s most watched award sets. (labiennale.org) (artnews.com) Farkas brings long Biennial experience to the role: ARTnews said she founded the Videobrasil Biennial in São Paulo in 1983 and led it as artistic director until 2004. With the jury now in place, the next formal milestone is May 9, when the winners are announced as Venice opens its 2026 art season. (artnews.com) (labiennale.org)