Venice Biennale jury

La Biennale di Venezia has named a five-member international jury for the 2026 art exhibition, with Brazilian curator Solange Oliveira Farkas as president. (labiennale.org) Farkas will serve with Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi on the jury for the 61st International Art Exhibition, the Biennale said on April 22. (labiennale.org) The jury will decide the Golden Lions and other official prizes, and the awards ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Venice, the opening day of the exhibition. (labiennale.org) The 2026 edition, titled *In Minor Keys*, will run from May 9 to November 22, with preview days on May 6, 7, and 8 at the Giardini, the Arsenale, and other Venice sites. (labiennale.org) This year’s exhibition is moving ahead after the death of curator Koyo Kouoh in May 2025, and La Biennale said in February that it would carry out her exhibition with the support of her family. (labiennale.org (labiennale.org)) Kouoh had been appointed in December 2024 and developed the concept for *In Minor Keys* before her death at 57, according to Biennale and art press reports. (labiennale.org) (artnews.com) The jury lineup also signals the mix of institutions shaping the 2026 prizes: Farkas founded Associação Cultural Videobrasil, Kuzma teaches at the Yale School of Art, Dyangani Ose is artistic director of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Butt leads deCentral in Thailand, and Zapperi teaches at the University of Geneva. (labiennale.org) ArtNews reported the board of La Biennale selected the panel, rather than Kouoh, reflecting the institution’s role in carrying the exhibition through to its May opening. (artnews.com) The next public marker is May 9, when the same day will bring the awards ceremony, the inauguration, and the public opening of Kouoh’s posthumous Biennale in Venice. (labiennale.org)