Venice Biennale highlights four pavilions

Euronews on May 16 singled out four national pavilions at the 61st Venice Biennale as standout presentations during the opening stretch of this year’s exhibition, which La Biennale di Venezia says runs from May 9 to Nov. 22 across the Giardini, the Arsenale and sites around Venice. The official Biennale website says the 2026 edition, titled *In Minor Keys*, follows the project conceived by the late curator Koyo Kouoh with the support of her family. La Biennale says 100 national participations are included this year, with 29 in the Giardini, 25 in the Arsenale and 46 spread across the city. About 10,000 visitors attended opening day on May 9, up 10% from 2024, the Biennale said. ### Which pavilions were singled out first? Euronews said Japan, Australia, the Nordic Countries and Poland were the four national pavilions that most closely matched Kouoh’s stated emphasis on “nurture, intimacy and reflection.” The outlet framed its selection against a politically charged opening week that included protests over Russia’s and Israel’s participation and broader disputes over funding and closures. (labiennale.org) The Biennale’s official materials describe Kouoh’s exhibition as a response to what President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco called a world in which “voices are distorted in the din,” with the show seeking a “listening zone tuned in to a lower frequency.” Euronews said the four selected pavilions were the ones that, in its view, most clearly echoed that approach. (euronews.com) ### What made the Japan pavilion one of the most discussed stops? Euronews said the Japan Pavilion centers on *Grass Babies, Moon Babies* by Japanese American queer artist Ei Arakawa-Nash. The report said visitors are invited to carry one of 57 dolls through the pavilion and gardens, with options to change diapers and trigger a QR-linked “diaper poem” tied to each doll’s assigned birthday. (labiennale.org) Rebecca Ann Hughes wrote that the work turns spectators into participants in “a collective act of care.” That reading came from Euronews, which said the installation drew smiles, jokes and interaction among strangers as visitors moved through the space holding the dolls. (euronews.com) ### How did other coverage describe the mood around this Biennale? The Hindu wrote on May 17 that grief, geopolitical tension and marginalized voices were central to the 2026 edition. Its review described the Biennale as arriving in an “age of grief and geopolitical fracture,” and said its focus on marginalized voices and places made the show feel timely. (euronews.com) The Art Newspaper reported on April 30 that Israel’s return and Russia’s participation had already stirred threats of disruption. That report said Israel’s pavilion itself would remain closed, with artist Belu-Simion Fainaru instead showing *Rose of Nothingness* in the Arsenale. (thehindu.com) ### How large is the 2026 edition, and what happens next? La Biennale di Venezia says this year’s exhibition includes 100 national participations and that seven countries are taking part for the first time: Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Togo and Oman. The organization also said two new Visitors’ Lions were established for 2026 — one for an artist in the main exhibition and one for a national participation. (theartnewspaper.com) Voting procedures for those Visitors’ Lions were posted on May 15, and La Biennale said the awards ceremony will take place on Nov. 22, the closing day of the exhibition. The 61st Venice Biennale remains open in Venice through that date. ### What else opened in Venice during Biennale week? Dale Chihuly opened a separate Venice project on May 5, according to the artist’s official exhibition page and other coverage published during Biennale week. (labiennale.org) Chihuly’s site says *CHIHULY: Venice 2026* includes three new sculptures installed along the Grand Canal and an interpretive and archival center at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti. My Modern Met reported on May 16 that the exhibition marks 30 years since *Chihuly Over Venice*, the 1996 project that helped cement the American artist’s ties to the city. Chihuly’s official page says the current exhibition runs through Nov. 14, 2026, slightly ahead of the Biennale’s Nov. 22 close. (mymodernmet.com) (chihuly.com)