Qatar names its Venice artists

Qatar has named five artists for its 2026 Venice Biennale pavilion, with Rirkrit Tiravanija leading a group show on the Giardini site of its future permanent building. (artasiapacific.com) The exhibition is titled *untitled 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people)* and lists Tiravanija, Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Atoui, Alia Farid and Fadi Kattan. Tom Eccles and Ruba Katrib are co-curating the presentation, which opens with the 61st Venice Biennale on May 9, 2026. (artasiapacific.com) La Biennale di Venezia says the 2026 edition runs from May 9 to November 22, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. Qatar Museums said its pavilion will operate across that full run. (labiennale.org, artasiapacific.com) The show centers on a tent-like structure designed by Tiravanija, an artist whose work often turns exhibitions into places for cooking, gathering and conversation rather than object display alone. The Whitney Museum describes him as closely associated with “relational aesthetics,” a 1990s approach centered on social exchange. (artasiapacific.com, whitney.org) Inside that structure, Qatar said Al-Maria will present a film, Farid will show a lacquered fiberglass sculpture titled *Jerrican* (2022–26), Atoui will organize live performances, and Kattan will lead a food program with chefs from the Middle East and North Africa. (artasiapacific.com) That mix gives Qatar a pavilion built around moving images, sound, sculpture and meals served on site, instead of a single artist or a conventional object-heavy survey. The format also links the project to Tiravanija’s long-running use of architecture and shared activity as the artwork’s frame. (artasiapacific.com, stpi.com.sg) The Venice presentation is also a marker in Qatar’s longer push for a permanent foothold in the Biennale’s main grounds. Qatar Museums announced in February 2025 that the country would build a national pavilion in the Giardini, joining 30 other nations with permanent pavilions there. (qm.org.qa) Qatar Museums said at the time that only Australia and the Republic of Korea had opened new Giardini pavilions in the previous 50 years. The future Qatar pavilion is being designed by Lebanese-born architect Lina Ghotmeh on a central Giardini site next to the Book Pavilion. (qm.org.qa, linaghotmeh.com) The 2026 show is being produced by Qatar Museums and presented by Rubaiya Qatar, a new quadrennial that the institution says will stage its first edition in November 2026. Qatar’s Venice pavilion now doubles as an early international platform for that broader cultural rollout. (artasiapacific.com, qna.org.qa) For Venice, the immediate result is a Qatar pavilion that will open as a temporary gathering space before the permanent building arrives. For Qatar, it puts a chef, a sound artist, a filmmaker, a sculptor and Tiravanija’s social practice on one of the Biennale’s most watched stages. (artasiapacific.com, qm.org.qa)