Vietnam’s first pavilion

Vietnam will have its first national pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026, ending years of participation without a state pavilion. (artasiapacific.com) The exhibition is titled “Viet Nam: Art in the Global Flow” and will be staged at Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon, a restored palace in Venice’s San Marco district. Vietnam’s state broadcaster VTV said the project gives the country an independent exhibition space at the Biennale for the first time. (artasiapacific.com) (english.vtv.vn) La Biennale di Venezia says the 61st International Art Exhibition will run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. The main exhibition, titled “In Minor Keys,” was conceived by curator Koyo Kouoh, and the Biennale said it will proceed with the support of her family. (labiennale.org) Vietnam is one of seven countries making a first appearance in the Biennale’s national participations in 2026. La Biennale lists the others as Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Qatar, Sierra Leone and Somalia. (labiennale.org) That matters because the Venice Biennale is built around national pavilions, which countries use to present artists under an official banner alongside the central exhibition. In 2026, La Biennale said there will be 100 national participations and 31 collateral events across Venice. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon is also part of the story. Italian reports said the palace reopened after more than a year of restoration and is being positioned as a venue for exhibitions and cultural events beginning with the 2026 Biennale. (initaly.it) (insideart.eu) ArtAsiaPacific reported that the pavilion will include work by Lê Hữu Hiếu, whose practice has drawn attention in past Venice exhibitions. VTV described the project as part of a broader push to place Vietnamese fine arts more visibly in international circuits. (artasiapacific.com) (english.vtv.vn) The next marker is May 2026, when Vietnam’s pavilion opens into a Biennale that will stretch for more than six months across the city. For Vietnam, the shift is concrete: from being present in Venice’s art ecosystem to having its own national room in it. (labiennale.org) (artasiapacific.com)