Venice Biennale lineup notes

The 2026 Venice Biennale is entering its final rollout before the May 9 opening, with the Vatican and Qatar among the latest pavilions to lock in their lineups. (labiennale.org, labiennale.org) La Biennale says the 61st International Art Exhibition, titled *In Minor Keys*, runs from May 9 to November 22, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. The main exhibition follows the project conceived by curator Koyo Kouoh, and the organization says there will be 100 National Participations and 31 Collateral Events. (labiennale.org, labiennale.org) The Holy See said on April 14 that its pavilion will present 24 newly commissioned artists in a project titled *The Ear is the Eye of the Soul*. The show is curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers with Soundwalk Collective and unfolds across two Venice sites: the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelites in Cannaregio and the Santa Maria Ausiliatrice complex in Castello. (dce.va) The Vatican pavilion is built around listening rather than object display. The Dicastery for Culture and Education said 20 of the commissions are new sound works responding to Saint Hildegard of Bingen, with visitors listening on headphones in the garden, while a second section includes works by Alexander Kluge, Ilda David’ and Tatiana Bilbao. (dce.va) The artist list mixes musicians, filmmakers, poets and visual artists, including Patti Smith, Brian Eno, FKA Twigs, Jim Jarmusch, Meredith Monk, Moor Mother and Otobong Nkanga. The Holy See said Kluge, who died on March 25 at 94, gave the pavilion its title. (dce.va, ewtnnews.com) Qatar announced its national pavilion on April 17 as *untitled 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people)*, with Rirkrit Tiravanija, Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Atoui, Alia Farid and Fadi Kattan. ArtAsiaPacific reported that the exhibition is co-curated by Tom Eccles and Ruba Katrib and will be staged in the Giardini on the site of Qatar’s future permanent pavilion designed by Lina Ghotmeh. (artasiapacific.com) That project centers on a tent-like structure by Tiravanija and splits into four parts: a film by Al-Maria, a large fiberglass sculpture by Farid, live performances organized by Atoui, and a food program led by Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan with chefs from the Middle East and North Africa. Qatar Museums is producing the pavilion under Rubaiya Qatar, its contemporary art initiative, which is due to hold its first edition in November 2026. (artasiapacific.com) The pace of announcements reflects how the Biennale works: the central exhibition is one part of the event, and countries mount separate national shows across the Giardini, the Arsenale and venues around Venice. The Art Newspaper reported in March that countries had been steadily naming artists and curators ahead of the opening. (labiennale.org, theartnewspaper.com) With three weeks until preview days begin, the shape of the 2026 edition is coming into focus through these national presentations as much as through the main show. The next shift is logistical rather than curatorial: pavilions move from artist lists and press releases to installations that open across Venice on May 9. (labiennale.org, labiennale.org)