Un sipario color crema si apre su uno schermo con una grande bocca spalancata, alla Biennale Arte 2026 di Venezia

23 October 2026

The 2026 Venice Art Biennale Is a Symphony in a Minor Key

Conceived by Koyo Kouoh, the Cameroonian-Swiss curator who served as executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, the 61st International Art Exhibition in Venice invites us to rediscover the most intimate rhythms of existence.

After Kouoh’s untimely death in May 2025, and with the full support of her family, La Biennale di Venezia chose to stage the Exhibition according to the project she had conceived, in order to preserve, honor and share her ideas and the work she had pursued with such dedication.

The title, In Minor Keys, borrows its words from music, and it puts forward a vision of art that doesn’t only aim to astonish but to create listening, awareness, human connection, empathy.

“In minor keys” as a metaphor for the unease of our time

The idea of minor keys belongs to the language of music; here it works as a metaphor for the frequencies through which we can perceive the deeper sides of reality that modern noise tends to blur.

Like a conductor, the curator doesn’t seek the reassuring harmony of a major key. Instead, she invites visitors to surrender to a kind of fleeting trance, letting dissonances and melancholy melodies pass through them, melodies able to give voice to the shadows of our time and to turn the unease that inhabits it into sound.

In minor keys is offered as an experience to be lived with the whole body, not just observed rationally. Sounds, images, sensations and shamanic forms have the magical power to tune our attention to the frequencies of minor keys, where reality becomes unique, extraordinary, intuitive. The project sets out to favor resonances between artistic practices that, though born far apart from one another, share imaginaries and possibilities for transformation.

A tall sand-colored female figure, all folds and drapery, standing in a dark room with a stone floor

An oval figure covered in long gray hair and crowned with thorns, mounted on a pole against a white background

A multitude of works weaving together diverse themes

The works of the 110 participants, including individual artists, art collectives, collaborations and arts organizations, weave together a wide range of themes: historical memory and the wounds of colonialism, fertility, human fragility, sharing and the practices that can build community, nature.

A glossy red sculpture with flower and animal shapes, on a white pedestal in front of a painted folding screen

A reclining figure of black leather stitched with red thread, with long open hands and red threads streaming from its head

The exhibition calls on us to step away from the logic that everything must be fast, productive and measurable, and to reclaim a contemplative, harmonious time that can carry us, eagerly, toward the most poetic dimensions of ourselves.

The Giardini, the Arsenale and the other venues around the city hosting the exhibition are open through November 22, the official closing day. For the finissage, the closing program running from November 13 to 22, the calendar is packed with events, including performances, debates and talks. The grand finale belongs to the American artist and musician Laurie Anderson, who will present an audiovisual performance. Enjoy!

Photos: Kristinn Kis & Johnny Miodini