Venice Biennale dates set
The 61st Venice Biennale will open to the public on May 9 and run through November 22 across the Giardini, the Arsenale and venues across Venice, with organizers listing 111 artists and 99 national pavilions in the programme. (irvingyee.com) (news.err.ee)
Venice’s biggest art show now has fixed dates, fixed venues, and a nearly complete map of who is coming: the 2026 edition opens after a three-day preview on May 6, 7, and 8, then runs from May 9 to November 22 across the Giardini, the Arsenale, and other sites around the city. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) This is the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, the Venice institution founded in 1895 that turns national pavilions, old shipyards, and public gardens into one giant art circuit every two years. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) The 2026 show carries the title “In Minor Keys,” and organizers say it will include 111 invited participants drawn from different regions, including solo artists, duos, collectives, and artist-led organizations. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2) The curator was Koyo Kouoh, the Cameroon-born, Switzerland-linked museum leader who was appointed in November 2024 after running Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town. La Biennale says it is carrying out the 2026 exhibition with the support of Kouoh’s family after her death on May 10, 2025. (labiennale.org) (labiennale.org) (labiennale.org) That detail changes how the dates land, because this is no longer just a calendar announcement. It is also confirmation that Venice will stage a major international exhibition built from Kouoh’s plan, with her team presenting the first part of her curatorial text on the official site. (labiennale.org) (labiennale.org) The national side of the event is almost as large as the central exhibition, with 99 national participations listed so far. In Venice terms, that means countries splitting between permanent pavilions in the Giardini and temporary spaces spread through palazzos, warehouses, and side streets across the lagoon city. (labiennale.org) (labiennale.org) You can already see the machine starting up. Estonia’s 2026 pavilion, “The Leaking Sky House” by Merike Estna, was publicly presented this week before transport south, with 25,000 glazed floor tiles and a monumental painting assembled from 22 canvases. (err.ee) For visitors, the practical shape of the show is also set: tickets are sold online, the main venues are the Giardini, the Arsenale, and Forte Marghera, summer hours run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the exhibition is closed on most Mondays. (labiennale.org) So the news is not only that Venice picked opening day. It is that the 2026 Biennale has moved from concept to full public rollout, with dates, venues, artists, national pavilions, ticketing, and the first visible pavilion installations now all locked into place. (labiennale.org) (labiennale.org) (err.ee)
