Biennale dates set

La Biennale di Venezia has set the public dates for Biennale Arte 2026: May 9 through November 22 in Venice. (labiennale.org) The 61st International Art Exhibition will open after three preview days on May 6, 7 and 8, with the awards ceremony and inauguration scheduled for May 9. The main venues are the Giardini and the Arsenale, with additional projects spread across Venice. (labiennale.org) The 2026 edition carries the title *In Minor Keys* and was conceived by curator Koyo Kouoh. La Biennale says it is proceeding with her exhibition “with the full support” of her family after her death in May 2025. (labiennale.org) That makes the calendar announcement more than a tourism marker. It fixes the timetable for a show that the institution has chosen to realize as a posthumous curatorial project rather than replace with a new artistic direction. (labiennale.org) The Venice Biennale is one of the art world’s biggest recurring events, built around a central international exhibition and separate national pavilions. The Art Newspaper reported in March that countries were still steadily naming their artists and curators for the 2026 edition. (theartnewspaper.com) La Biennale announced on February 25 that the main exhibition will include 111 invited participants, including individual artists, duos, collectives and artist-led organizations from multiple regions. That list gives museums, galleries, collectors and visitors a firmer sense of the scale taking shape for May. (labiennale.org) The dates are already being used by institutions planning around the show. Vanderbilt University said on April 13 that artists Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Kamaal Malak will take part, tying its first Venice Biennale presence to the May-to-November run. (news.vanderbilt.edu) For now, the clearest next milestone is the May opening week, when preview events begin on May 6 and Kouoh’s *In Minor Keys* moves from announcement to exhibition. (labiennale.org)