UAE pavilion invites listening
The UAE pavilion for the 61st Venice Biennale will present Washwasha, a sound‑based project that asks visitors to listen closely to whispers, echoes and shared histories carried through sound. (The National published the pavilion preview describing the show’s sonic focus.) (thenationalnews.com)
The United Arab Emirates will use sound, not spectacle, for its 2026 Venice Biennale pavilion, with an exhibition called *Washwasha* opening on May 9. (nationalpavilionuae.org) The show runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, at the Arsenale’s Sale d’Armi as part of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The public preview days are May 6, 7 and 8. (labiennale.org) (universes.art) *Washwasha* means “whispering” in Arabic. The National Pavilion UAE said the exhibition looks at contemporary soundscapes in the Emirates and how they hold memory, movement, migration and long ties to the land. (nationalpavilionuae.org) Bana Kattan is curating the pavilion, with Tala Nassar as assistant curator. The six participating artists are Mays Albaik, Jawad Al Malhi, Farah Al Qasimi, Alaa Edris, Lamya Gargash and Taus Makhacheva. (wam.ae) (universes.art) The project lands in a Biennale shaped by Koyo Kouoh’s theme, *In Minor Keys*. La Biennale says the 2026 exhibition will proceed with Kouoh’s curatorial vision and the support of her family after her death in May 2025. (labiennale.org) (biennialassociation.org) That wider framework helps explain the UAE pavilion’s focus on listening. La Biennale describes the main exhibition as a “visual and meditative procession” that asks visitors to move through the Giardini, the Arsenale and other Venice sites with their senses engaged. (labiennale.org) (labiennale.vivaticket.it) For the UAE, this is the pavilion’s ninth participation in the International Art Exhibition in Venice. The pavilion is commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation and supported by the Ministry of Culture. (nationalpavilionuae.org) The National Pavilion UAE has spent the past decade using Venice to build an international platform for artists and curators tied to the Emirates. Its 2026 entry keeps that strategy but shifts attention toward voices, echoes and the way a place can be heard as much as seen. (nationalpavilionuae.org) (canvasonline.com) When the doors open in Venice next month, the UAE pavilion will ask visitors to slow down and listen for what a fast-changing country leaves behind in sound. (thenationalnews.com)
