Vanderbilt in Venice

Vanderbilt University is taking its first formal program to the Venice Biennale in 2026, pairing faculty exhibitions with a two-month public series in the city. (news.vanderbilt.edu) The university said faculty artists María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Vesna Pavlović and Richard Lou will present work at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Vanderbilt also said its Venice program is called “Resonance: Vanderbilt University in Venice.” (news.vanderbilt.edu) “Resonance” is scheduled to run from May 10 to July 10, 2026, and Vanderbilt said it will include exhibitions, sonic inquiry and public convenings with artists, curators, musicians, performers, writers, poets, scholars and cultural leaders. The Biennale itself runs from May 9 to Nov. 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. (nationaltoday.com) (labiennale.org) The Venice Biennale is one of the art world’s biggest recurring exhibitions, staged across the Giardini, the Arsenale and other sites in Venice every two years. The 2026 edition is titled “In Minor Keys,” and La Biennale di Venezia said it was shaped by curator Koyo Kouoh. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) Vanderbilt framed the trip as more than a faculty showcase. Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said the university’s “first-ever presence at the Venice Biennale” reflects a broader push to expand Vanderbilt’s reach in the arts. (news.vanderbilt.edu) That matters in part because universities usually appear in Venice through research talks, study programs or national partnerships, not as a branded public humanities and arts platform timed to the Biennale calendar. Vanderbilt already runs a separate “Vanderbilt in Venice” law program, but its law school says the 2026 information for that student offering is still forthcoming. (law.vanderbilt.edu) La Biennale di Venezia said the 2026 exhibition will go forward with the support of Kouoh’s family, a detail included after the curator’s death this year. That gives added weight to institutions and artists now organizing around an edition that will open in less than a month. (labiennale.org) Vanderbilt has not yet published a full Venice schedule, venue list or ticketing details for “Resonance.” For now, the clearest timeline is that the university’s program opens the day after Biennale Arte 2026 begins and runs through July 10. (nationaltoday.com)