Venice Biennale 2026
La Biennale di Venezia 2026
61st International Art Exhibition
In Minor Keys — Curated by Koyo Kouoh
Venice (Giardini, Arsenale and city-wide venues)
May 9 – November 22, 2026
Pre-opening: May 6, 7, 8
Opening & Awards Ceremony: May 9, 2026
Curatorial Framework
In Minor Keys is the curatorial project developed by Koyo Kouoh, appointed Artistic Director in November 2024. Following her passing in May 2025, La Biennale chose to realize the exhibition in full, preserving the conceptual and structural integrity of her vision.
Kouoh established the theoretical framework, selected the artists and works, defined the spatial and graphic identity, and initiated the curatorial dialogue that continues to shape the exhibition.
Curatorial Method
The exhibition emerges from a relational process grounded in dialogue and collaboration, notably through a key working session in Dakar at RAW Material Company.
Concepts such as enchantment, collective practice, and generative exchange were not imposed but developed through shared research and conversation. This approach reflects Kouoh’s understanding of curating as a practice rooted in relationships rather than fixed structures.
Artists and Scope
The exhibition brings together 111 participants, including artists, collectives, and organizations from multiple geographies. The selection is based on resonance and affinity rather than geographic representation, forming what can be understood as a relational cartography shaped over time.
Conceptual Structure
Rather than being divided into sections, the exhibition is organized through conceptual motifs.
Shrines function as spaces of tribute and continuity, foregrounding practices that exceed the logic of the object.
Procession introduces a spatial and social dynamic informed by collective movement, where participation replaces observation.
Schools operate as ecosystems of knowledge production, linking artistic practice with social and pedagogical frameworks.
Spaces of rest and contemplation offer an alternative temporality, emphasizing slowness, perception, and multisensory engagement.
Literary References
The exhibition draws from literary works such as Beloved by Toni Morrison and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, particularly in their treatment of time, memory, and layered realities.
Performance and Embodiment
The performance program centers the body as a site of memory and knowledge, including a procession of poets in the Giardini inspired by Kouoh’s Poetry Caravan.
Exhibition Design
Designed by Wolff Architects, the spatial approach emphasizes thresholds as transitional experiences. Textile elements and atmospheric shifts guide visitors through changing perceptual states.
Key Perspective
In Minor Keys resists traditional exhibition logic. It operates as a compositional field in which perception, memory, and relational experience unfold through layered encounters rather than fixed narratives.
