Venice Biennale preview
Organizers have set the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia for May 9–November 22, and previews name specific national projects and controversies ahead of the May opening. ( ). The UAE pavilion will present Washwasha, a sound‑led project about whispers and shared histories, Lebanon will show Nabil Nahas’s Don’t Get Me Wrong curated by Nada Ghandour, and a master Mardi Gras Indian suit‑maker will appear as the first Black Masking Indian in the international exhibition — all while the EU warns it may cut funding over the reopening of the Russian pavilion. ( ).
The 2026 Venice Biennale opens to the public on May 9 with national pavilions rolling out new shows as a funding fight over Russia sharpens before preview week. (labiennale.org, euronews.com) La Biennale di Venezia says the 61st International Art Exhibition, titled *In Minor Keys*, runs through November 22, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8 across the Giardini, the Arsenale and other Venice sites. The official program lists 99 national participations and 31 collateral events. (labiennale.org, labiennale.org) This year’s exhibition was conceived by Koyo Kouoh, who was appointed curator in November 2024. Biennale organizers say they are carrying out her project with the support of her family and following the plan as she defined it. (labiennale.org, labiennale.org) The United Arab Emirates pavilion is bringing *Washwasha*, a group show built around sound, memory and the act of whispering. Reports on the project say curator Bana Kattan and assistant curator Tala Nassar assembled six artists whose works trace migration, transience and ties to land in the United Arab Emirates. (al-monitor.com, gulftoday.ae) Lebanon’s pavilion will present *Don’t Get Me Wrong*, an exhibition by Nabil Nahas curated by Nada Ghandour. An announcement published April 13 says the show will be installed at Campo de la Tana in the Arsenale area during the Biennale dates. (e-flux.com) Another preview from New Orleans points to a different first inside the international exhibition: a master Mardi Gras Indian suit-maker is set to appear as the first Black Masking Indian included in the Biennale’s main show. That would bring a ceremonial practice rooted in Black New Orleans neighborhoods into Venice’s central exhibition rather than a national pavilion. (nola.com) The biggest dispute before opening is Russia’s return. Euronews reported in March that Russia was allowed back for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, drawing objections from Italy’s government, Lithuania’s foreign minister and members of the European Parliament. (euronews.com, euronews.com) On April 13, Euronews reported that the European Commission threatened to freeze €2 million in funding for the Biennale over the reopening of the Russian pavilion. That warning lands less than a month before the May 6 preview begins. (euronews.com, labiennale.org) So the 2026 edition is arriving with two clocks running at once: the official countdown to May 9, and a political deadline over whether the Biennale can keep its full European Union support. By the time preview week starts on May 6, the art on view and the institutions behind it will both be under scrutiny. (labiennale.org, euronews.com)
