Venice Biennale dates
- The Venice Biennale 2026 is scheduled to run from May 9 through November 22, 2026. (travelandtourworld.com) - Preview-week programming includes '1922 Revisited', a live arts program curated by Dr. Janine A. Sytsma, set for May 5–9. (globenewswire.com) - The Biennale's May opening is being flagged across cultural calendars as a major arrival for 2026 programming. (bloomberg.com)
The 2026 Venice Biennale will open to the public on May 9 and run through November 22, with preview days set for May 6 to 8. (labiennale.org) La Biennale di Venezia says the 61st International Art Exhibition will be staged at the Giardini, the Arsenale and other sites across Venice. The official title is *In Minor Keys*, and the exhibition is credited to curator Koyo Kouoh. (labiennale.org) The Biennale is the city’s flagship contemporary art exhibition, held every two years, with a central curated show and separate national pavilions spread across Venice. Artsy’s 2026 guide says those two parts remain the basic structure of this edition. (artsy.net) The May opening matters on the cultural calendar because the Biennale sets the timetable for pavilion launches, awards and collector, curator and museum travel in the spring season. La Biennale says the awards ceremony and inauguration are scheduled for Saturday, May 9, 2026. (biennialfoundation.org) This edition also arrives after a major change in leadership. La Biennale says it is carrying out Kouoh’s exhibition “with the full support” of her family after her death in May 2025. (labiennale.org) For visitors, the official planning page says the exhibition is closed on Mondays except May 11, June 1, September 7 and November 16. It lists summer hours from May 9 to September 27 at 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with Friday and Saturday evening extensions at the Arsenale to 8 p.m. (labiennale.org) A separate preview-week program, *1922 Revisited*, is scheduled for May 5 to 9 and will run partly ahead of the Biennale’s official preview days. Third Space Art Foundation says art historian Janine A. Sytsma is curating the live arts project with artists from Africa and its diasporas. (manilatimes.net) That timing means Venice’s art week will effectively begin before the public opening, then build into the Biennale’s main launch on May 9. By then, the city’s main venues, national pavilions and parallel events will all be moving at once. (labiennale.org, manilatimes.net)
