Venice Biennale preview set
The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Koyo Kouoh and titled “In Minor Keys,” will open for preview on May 7, 2026. G.A.S. Foundation is participating, a Mardi Gras Indian suit‑maker has been named the first Black Masking Indian included in the exhibition, and reports say Ukraine has sanctioned five representatives of the Russian pavilion amid EU pressure over funding (tribuneonlineng.com) (nola.com) (lamilano.it).
La Biennale di Venezia has set May 6, 7, and 8, 2026, for the preview of its 61st International Art Exhibition, with the public opening on May 9. (labiennale.org) The exhibition is titled *In Minor Keys* and will run through November 22, 2026, across the Giardini, the Arsenale, and other sites in Venice. La Biennale said the show will proceed under the curatorial vision of Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2025 after completing the exhibition’s framework and artist selection. (labiennale.org) La Biennale said the main exhibition will include 111 invited participants, ranging from individual artists to collectives and artist-led organizations. It also said Biennale Arte 2026 will be accompanied by 99 National Participations and 31 Collateral Events. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) One of those invited organizations is Guest Artists Space Foundation, known as G.A.S. Foundation, which said on February 25 that it will present a project led by Ann Marie Peña with support from founder Yinka Shonibare and executive director Moni Aisida. The foundation said it has operated since 2019 across sites in Lagos and Ikise, Ogun State, in Nigeria. (guestartistsspace.com) The invited artists list also reaches into New Orleans. Demond Melancon, Big Chief of the Young Seminole Hunters, is among the selected participants, and New Orleans Newswire said he and Dawn DeDeaux are the first New Orleans artists included in the international exhibition since 2015. (labiennale.org) (nolanewswire.com) Melancon’s selection puts Black Masking Indian culture inside the Biennale’s main exhibition. The Black Masking Indian tradition in New Orleans dates to the 1800s, with members spending months hand-sewing beadwork-heavy suits worn during Carnival season. (cbsnews.com) (marianeibrahim.com) The Biennale preview is also opening under pressure over Russia’s return to Venice. The Kyiv Independent reported on April 10 that Ukraine sanctioned five representatives of the Russian pavilion, including commissioner Anastasia Karneeva, former culture minister Mikhail Shvydkoy, and artists Artem Nikolaev, Ilya Tatakov, and Valeria Oliinyk. (kyivindependent.com) Ukraine’s Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna said the sanctions were meant to block Russia’s return to “the international cultural space” while the war continues. The Kyiv Independent said the measures include asset blocking, entry bans, and restrictions on cultural exchanges and economic activity. (kyivindependent.com) That dispute follows the 2022 Biennale, when the Russian pavilion was canceled after the selected artists withdrew in protest against the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Venice’s 2026 preview now arrives with the main exhibition list locked, national pavilions in place, and the politics around at least one pavilion still unresolved. (kyivindependent.com) (labiennale.org)
