Venice Biennale 61st 'In Minor Keys'

La Biennale di Venezia opened its 61st International Art Exhibition, “In Minor Keys,” on May 9, 2026, with a show built from the curatorial framework left by Koyo Kouoh before her death in May 2025. The exhibition runs through November 22 across the Giardini, the Arsenale, Forte Marghera and other sites in Venice, according to the Biennale. La Biennale said it proceeded with the project with the support of Kouoh’s family and the team she had selected to realize it. ### Why is Koyo Kouoh still at the center of this edition? Koyo Kouoh was named artistic director of the Visual Arts Department in late 2024 and had already fixed the exhibition’s framework, artist selection, catalogue authors, graphic identity and exhibition architecture before her death, La Biennale said. The institution said her curatorial text and title were submitted to Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco on April 8, 2025. (labiennale.org) La Biennale said the exhibition is being carried out by the team Kouoh chose: Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira and Rasha Salti as advisers, Siddhartha Mitter as editor-in-chief and Rory Tsapayi as research assistant. In a Biennale statement, the team said a meeting in Dakar in April 2025 helped define the exhibition’s structure and motifs. ### What does “In Minor Keys” refer to? (labiennale.org) “In Minor Keys” is the title Kouoh chose for the 61st exhibition, and the Biennale says the show follows her curatorial text. In that text, published by the Biennale and reproduced in art coverage, Kouoh framed the project as an invitation to move at a slower tempo and attend to “minor keys” as emotional and sensory registers rather than dominant themes. (labiennale.org) Illustrarch reported that Kouoh described the exhibition as a way to connect with “the songs of those producing beauty in spite of tragedy” and to find “harmonies that oppose the cacophony of the present.” The same guide said the exhibition is organized around “undercurrent priorities,” including Shrines, Processions, Schools and Oases, rather than fixed thematic sections. (labiennale.org) ### How big is the 2026 Biennale, exactly? La Biennale said on March 4 that the 61st exhibition would be accompanied by 100 national participations and 31 collateral events. On its main 2026 page, the Biennale also lists 31 collateral events taking place across Venice. The central exhibition count is less uniform across sources. La Biennale’s invited-artists announcement from February 25 says “In Minor Keys” features 110 invited participants, including individual artists, duos, collectives and artist-led organizations. (illustrarch.com) Illustrarch, in a May 19 guide, put the figure at 111 artists. The national participation total also shifted during preparations. (labiennale.org) La Biennale said in early May that Iran would not participate and that the official list still comprised 100 national participations, including Tanzania and Seychelles, which were added after the March 4 announcement. ### Where does the exhibition unfold in Venice? The Biennale says the main venues are the Giardini and the Arsenale, with additional programming in various locations across Venice and at Forte Marghera. (labiennale.org) Its visitor information page says each of the two main venues includes both the international exhibition and national participations. The Biennale’s information page says summer opening hours run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from May through September, with the Arsenale open until 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays through the end of September. (labiennale.org) Autumn hours shift to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the exhibition is closed on Mondays except June 1, September 7 and November 16. ### What should readers know about access and the calendar? The pre-opening took place on May 6, 7 and 8, and the public opening began on Saturday, May 9, La Biennale said. (labiennale.org) The organization also reported about 10,000 visitors on opening day, up 10% from 2024. November 22, 2026 is the closing date for “In Minor Keys,” and La Biennale says that is also when the awards ceremony for the two Visitors’ Lions will take place. (labiennale.org) Tickets and guided tours are sold online only, according to the Biennale’s visitor information page. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2)