Vietnam debuts at Biennale

Vietnam will have a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale for the first time when the 61st edition opens in May 2026. (artasiapacific.com) The pavilion is titled “Viet Nam: Art in the Global Flow” and will be installed at Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon, a restored palace in Venice’s San Marco district. (artasiapacific.com, finestresullarte.info) La Biennale di Venezia says the 61st International Art Exhibition will run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with preview days on May 6, 7 and 8. The main exhibition keeps the title “In Minor Keys,” the curatorial project announced for 2026. (labiennale.org) Vietnam’s entry adds a country that had not previously mounted an official national pavilion at the art biennale. Vietnamese state media and art listings describe the 2026 project as the country’s first official participation. (artasiapacific.com, english.vtv.vn, myartguides.com) The announced team points to a pavilion built around lacquer, a medium with a long history in Vietnamese art. My Art Guides lists 10 artists in the national participation and says their works are united by traditional Vietnamese lacquer. (myartguides.com) My Art Guides names Mã Thế Anh as commissioner and Đỗ Tường Linh as curator. The listed artists include Nguyễn Thanh Chương, Đoàn Thị Thu Hương, Bùi Hữu Hùng and Lê Hữu Hiếu. (myartguides.com) The venue is part of a broader reshuffle of Venice biennale spaces outside the Giardini and Arsenale. Italian reports say Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon reopened after more than a year of restoration and was slated to host exhibitions and international projects beginning with Biennale Arte 2026. (finestresullarte.info, initaly.it) The 2026 edition is expected to include 99 countries and territories, according to Vietnamese news reports citing organizers. In that field, Vietnam’s move from sporadic artist presence to an official state pavilion puts it into the biennale’s national-participation format for the first time. (english.vtv.vn, vietnam.vnanet.vn) The opening will test how a lacquer-centered presentation lands in a biennale that mixes national pavilions with a large international exhibition spread across Venice. By May, Vietnam will no longer be appearing only through individual artists or collateral shows, but under its own flag. (labiennale.org, artasiapacific.com)