In Minor Keys: the Venice Biennale 2026

This Biennale is different. Intimate, profound, necessary.

It is a subdued song, as suggested by the title In Minor Keys, chosen by Koyo Kouoh for the 61st International Art Exhibition, scheduled to take place in Venice from May 9 to November 22, 2026.

The revelation of the title came at a time of great sorrow, a few days after the sudden death of the curator on May 10, 2025. An event that deeply affected the entire world of art and culture.

With courage and sensitivity, the Biennale has decided to fully implement her vision. It will do so by respecting in every detail the choices that Koyo Kouoh had outlined with passion and precision in the previous months.

In Minor Keys – Venice Biennale 2026: a vision that lives on

Koyo Kouoh enthusiastically accepted her appointment as director of the Visual Arts section in the fall of 2024. From that moment until the early days of May 2025, she worked tirelessly to shape her Biennale. She had defined the theoretical project, selected artists and works, chosen the authors of the texts, designed the visual identity of the exhibition, and imagined the architecture of the spaces.

Her title, In Minor Keys, as she herself wrote in the curatorial text, was intended to represent a delicate and reflective approach, a way of seeing art that privileges listening, subtlety, and the harmony of less heard voices.

It is an invitation to approach art without noise, to seek beauty in the margins, to make room for narratives that do not seek the center stage, but which, precisely for this reason, strike us more deeply.

What we will see at the Venice Art Biennale

All the details of the exhibition will be revealed during the official presentation on February 25, 2026, in Venice. On that occasion, we will learn the names of the selected artists, the participating countries, the exhibition projects, and all the new features that will make up the 2026 edition of the Biennale.

In the meantime, we already know that the project will be carried out with the contribution of the professionals that Koyo Kouoh wanted by her side. These include advisors Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Helene Pereira, and Rasha Salti, editor-in-chief Siddhartha Mitter, and assistant Rory Tsapayi.

This is an international and passionate team that has embraced the curator’s legacy with great respect and a desire to bring her work to fruition.

A Biennale that speaks all the languages of the world

Alongside the exhibition, the Venice Biennale is also inaugurating a new collaboration with Bvlgari, which will be the official partner for the next three editions. This partnership underscores a commitment to supporting creativity, dialogue between cultures, and the power of art as a universal language. Illycaffè will be the main sponsor of the 2026 edition, with the support of Vela – Venezia Unica.

Koyo Kouoh, curatrice della Biennale Arte 2026

Why you shouldn’t miss this Art Biennale

If you love contemporary art that makes you think, feel, and question yourself, In Minor Keys will be an unmissableevent. It’s more than an exhibition. It’s a legacy transformed into an experience. It’s a chance to hear Koyo Kouoh’s voice once again, through the works and choices she has left us.

Tickets are already available, so I recommend buying them now. This Biennale promises to be a unique moment in art history.

A delicate, coherent, and powerful tribute to a woman who believed in the power of art to change the way we see the world.

Tickets for the 2026 Biennale are already available. You can already choose the period of your visit to better organize your time.

I’ll be there, eager to be surprised. Will you?