Venice Biennale dates
- Organizers set the Venice Biennale 2026 to run from May 9 through November 22. - The long season positions the Biennale as a major cultural draw when the art world converges in early May. - Travel and Tour World and Bloomberg flagged the confirmed calendar and the Biennale's role in the May cultural schedule ( ).
The 2026 Venice Biennale will open to the public on May 9 and run through November 22, giving the art world a six-and-a-half-month season in Venice. (labiennale.org) La Biennale di Venezia says the 61st International Art Exhibition will stage its main show at the Giardini and the Arsenale, with additional projects spread across Venice. The pre-opening is set for May 6, 7 and 8, ahead of the public opening on May 9. (labiennale.org) The 2026 edition carries the title *In Minor Keys* and was conceived by curator Koyo Kouoh. La Biennale said last month that it would carry out the exhibition with the support of Kouoh’s family. (labiennale.org) That calendar matters in part because the Biennale’s first week functions as a global gathering point for artists, curators, collectors and museum patrons. Bloomberg included the Venice opening in its list of major cultural events arriving in May 2026. (bloomberg.com) The long run also turns the exhibition into a sustained tourism draw rather than a single-week event. Travel and Tour World highlighted the May 9 to November 22 dates in coverage aimed at travelers planning 2026 cultural trips to Italy. (travelandtourworld.com) For visitors, the official schedule already sets out operating details beyond the headline dates. The Biennale says it will be closed on Mondays, with exceptions on May 11, June 1, September 7 and November 16, and it will keep longer summer hours before shifting to shorter autumn hours. (labiennale.org) The exhibition is one of La Biennale’s flagship programs and follows the event’s biennial rhythm, returning every two years for the international art show. In 2026, organizers are again using Venice’s historic exhibition grounds as the core of a citywide format. (labiennale.org; labiennale.org) So the practical takeaway is now fixed: preview days begin May 6, the public enters May 9, and the 2026 Venice Biennale closes November 22. For anyone planning around the art calendar, Venice has already marked its dates. (labiennale.org)
