G.A.S. joins Venice

Guest Artists Space Foundation, the Lagos-based residency and arts platform founded by Yinka Shonibare, will take part in the main exhibition of the 2026 Venice Biennale. (guestartistsspace.com) The project is titled “In Minor Keys,” the same title as the 61st International Art Exhibition curated by Koyo Kouoh. The Biennale said the exhibition will run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. (labiennale.org) Guest Artists Space Foundation said its contribution will be installed in the Arsenale, one of the Biennale’s two main exhibition sites. The foundation announced the participation on February 25, 2026. (guestartistsspace.com) The Venice Biennale is one of the art world’s biggest recurring exhibitions, and the 2026 edition will include 111 invited participants across artists, duos, collectives and artist-led organizations. La Biennale listed Guest Artists Space Foundation among those invited participants. (labiennale.org) That places a Nigerian-rooted institution inside the Biennale’s central curated show, not only in a national pavilion or parallel event. Guest Artists Space Foundation said the invitation recognizes the residency “as a practice in its own right,” built around research, dialogue and long-term exchange. (guestartistsspace.com) The 2026 exhibition also carries the curatorial vision of Kouoh after her death on May 10, 2025. La Biennale said it decided, with the support of her family, to realize the exhibition she developed and to keep the team she selected. (labiennale.org) Kouoh was the first African woman appointed to curate the Venice Biennale’s international exhibition. Her title, “In Minor Keys,” was presented by La Biennale in May 2025 and expanded with the artist list in February 2026. (labiennale.org) Guest Artists Space Foundation operates as part of the Yinka Shonibare Foundation and runs residencies and public programs in Lagos. In its statement, it said its work links local communities to international conversations through projects on ecology, food, education and institution-building. (guestartistsspace.com) The next public milestone is the Biennale preview in Venice on May 6, 2026. By then, Guest Artists Space Foundation will move from an announcement on paper to a physical presence in the Arsenale. (labiennale.org)