Qatar's pavilion will include chefs
Qatar named Rirkrit Tiravanija to represent the country at Venice and he plans to assemble musicians, chefs, and artists from the Arab world for a pavilion described as a 'Gathering of Remarkable People.' ( ) The program is explicitly cross-disciplinary, bringing food and live performance into the exhibition’s structure. (artforum.com)
Qatar’s 2026 Venice Biennale pavilion will be built around artists, musicians, poets, and chefs, with food and live performance folded into the exhibition itself. (artforum.com, thepeninsulaqatar.com) Qatar named Rirkrit Tiravanija to lead the project, titled *untitled 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people)*, for the 61st International Art Exhibition in Venice. The Biennale opens May 9, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7, and 8, and runs through November 22. (artforum.com, labiennale.org) Tiravanija’s pavilion is set inside a tent structure in the Giardini on the future site of Qatar’s permanent national pavilion. Reports on the lineup name Arab-world participants including Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Atoui, Alia Farid, and chef Fadi Kattan. (nationaltoday.com, iloveqatar.net) That format fits Tiravanija’s long-running practice, which often uses meals, gathering, and participation as the artwork rather than treating viewers as passive spectators. Artforum said the Qatar project explicitly brings food and live performance into the pavilion’s structure. (artforum.com, finestresullarte.info) The commission also lands as Qatar expands its physical footprint in Venice. Qatar Museums said in February 2025 that the country would build a permanent national pavilion in the Giardini, joining about 30 countries with permanent pavilions there. (qm.org.qa) Qatar’s first presentation on that site came during the 2025 Architecture Biennale, when Qatar Museums announced Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh would design the permanent building. The 2026 art pavilion now serves as both an exhibition and a temporary occupation of the future plot. (qm.org.qa, dezeen.com) The Biennale itself is moving ahead under the title *In Minor Keys*. La Biennale di Venezia said the 2026 edition will proceed with the full support of curator Koyo Kouoh’s family after Kouoh’s death this year. (labiennale.org) For Qatar, that puts a pavilion centered on hospitality and performance into one of the art world’s biggest national stages just weeks before opening day. The effect is less a static country display than a programmed gathering that uses cooking, music, and conversation as part of the show. (artforum.com, thepeninsulaqatar.com)
