Venice Biennale runs May 9–Nov 22

Italy’s culture minister Alessandro Giuli said he will not attend the opening of the 61st Venice Biennale because Russia is returning to the event. (euronews.com) La Biennale di Venezia says the 2026 art exhibition will open to the public on Saturday, May 9, and run through Sunday, November 22, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. The awards ceremony is scheduled for May 9 in Venice. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) The main international exhibition is titled *In Minor Keys* and is being carried out with the support of curator Koyo Kouoh’s family, according to the Biennale’s official 2026 page. The show will include 110 invited participants across the Giardini, the Arsenale and other sites around Venice. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) Giuli’s boycott turns what is usually an opening-week art story into a fight over national representation. Euronews reported that Moscow has not taken part in the Biennale since 2022 and that the Russian pavilion’s return was approved by Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco. (euronews.com) That dispute had already widened beyond Rome. Earlier this month, Euronews reported that the European Commission threatened to freeze €2 million in funding over the reopening of the Russian pavilion. (euronews.com) The Biennale has kept building the exhibition on schedule. It named the international jury on April 22, with Solange Oliveira Farkas as president, and said the board approved the panel on Kouoh’s recommendation. (labiennale.org) For visitors, the official plan is now fixed: the exhibition runs at the Giardini, Arsenale and Forte Marghera, with summer hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and later Friday-Saturday hours at the Arsenale through September. (labiennale.org) So the immediate calendar is clear even as the politics are not: previews begin on May 6, the public opening and prizes follow on May 9, and the show stays up until November 22. (labiennale.org)