U.S. Pavilion drama

The U.S. Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale is heading into its May opening under a cloud of delays, disputed selection decisions and public second-guessing. (kvia.com) The show is now set as “Alma Allen: Call Me the Breeze,” organized by commissioner Jenni Parido of the American Arts Conservancy and curated by Jeffrey Uslip, after the State Department announced the selection on November 24, 2025. The Biennale opens to the public on May 9, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. (state.gov; labiennale.org) Uslip has pushed back on the idea that the project itself is in disarray, telling CNN this is “the smoothest exhibition” he has curated in 30 years and saying the team had “complete artistic autonomy.” Artist Alma Allen separately told the Financial Times, as quoted by ARTnews, that “no one has told me what to make in any circumstance.” (kvia.com; artnews.com) The turbulence is centered less on the objects in the pavilion than on how the U.S. got here. CNN reported that the usual process was disrupted, that months passed with uncertainty over whether a U.S. artist would be chosen at all, and that the fall government shutdown compressed planning and fundraising for a show that normally takes more than a year to organize. (kvia.com) That matters because the U.S. Pavilion is not just another exhibition slot. The Venice Biennale, founded 131 years ago, is one of the art world’s main national showcases, and La Biennale says the 2026 edition will include 100 national participations running from May 9 to November 22. (kvia.com; labiennale.org) The politics around this year’s pavilion began before Allen was confirmed. ARTnews reported in November that artist Robert Lazzarini’s proposal had first been selected and then withdrawn after negotiations broke down, leaving the U.S. contribution in limbo before Allen emerged as the replacement choice. (artnews.com) Questions widened again this week when Barbara Chase-Riboud said she had also been offered the pavilion and turned it down. She told the Financial Times, as quoted by ARTnews, that representing the United States in Venice “would have been splendid” but that “this was not the moment.” (artnews.com) ARTnews also reported that Chase-Riboud’s remarks followed changes under the Trump administration, including the removal of diversity language from application materials, while CNN said the State Department’s selection framed the exhibition as part of a push to showcase “American excellence.” Those details have fed criticism that the pavilion’s administration, not just its art, has become part of a larger ideological fight. (artnews.com; state.gov; kvia.com) Another flashpoint is the commissioner. CNN and ARTnews both identified Parido as the founder of the American Arts Conservancy, a nonprofit created in 2025, and reported that she previously ran a pet supply business in Tampa, Florida. (kvia.com; artnews.com) The exhibition itself is still moving forward on schedule. By the time the doors open in Venice on May 9, the central question may be the same one Uslip is already trying to answer: whether visitors see a finished national presentation, or the unusually messy process that produced it. (labiennale.org; kvia.com)