A Biennale shaped by the Legacy of Koyo Kouoh

Titled In Minor Keys, the Biennale runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, and bears the mark of its Swiss-Cameroonian curator, Koyo Kouoh, who passed away in May 2025. The second Black figure to lead the Biennale after the Nigerian-American Okwui Enwezor in 2015, she leaves behind a curatorial vision focused on issues of memory and transmission. The Biennale has nevertheless decided to proceed with the exhibition as she had conceived it in order to preserve and convey her perspective on the contemporary world.  

In Minor Keys: an invitation to listen to the world differently  

The title In Minor Keys speaks volumes about the spirit of this new edition. In music, the minor key refers as much to a song’s structure as to its emotional impact. Kouch’s vision is based on a more introspective approach to contemporary art, far removed from the spectacular and from purely event-driven interpretations of world events. Through this theme, Koyo Kouoh seeks to place emotion, sensitivity, and intimacy back at the center of the artistic experience. The Biennale invites us to slow down, to pay attention to invisible transformations, to listen rather than watch, and to perceive fragility as a strength.  

Kader Attia, Soly Cissé, and the African art scene take center stage at the 2026 Venice Biennale

With a clear focus on the African continent, the selection brings together 111 artists from around the world, including the Franco-Algerian visual artist Kader Attia, the Nigerian artist Otobong Nkanga, the Kenyan sculptor Wangechi Mutu, the Nigerian-British photographer Akinbode Akinbiyi, and the Cameroonian artist Werewere Liking, Senegalese artist Soly Cissé, Malawian artist Billie Zangewa, Congolese artist Sammy Baloji, South Africans Nicholas Hlobo, Berni Searle, and Kemang Wa Lehulere, Nigerians Ranti Bam, Marcia Kure, and Victoria-Idongesit Udondian, and the Senegalese collective RAW Material Company, founded by Koyo Kouoh herself. Together, they account for nearly a third of the total selection, where cultural and historical differences produce “minor frequencies” rather than a single narrative. 

This commitment to openness is also reflected in the participation of seven new countries, including Guinea, Qatar, and Somalia. Narratives long sidelined by major international art institutions find new visibility here through works that explore erased memories. 

Yto Barrada marks the grand return of the French Pavilion  

For the 2026 edition, the French Pavilion returns to its newly renovated historic building with a project entrusted to the Franco-Moroccan visual artist Yto Barrada. Born in Paris in 1971 and living between Tangier and New York, the artist is known for her multidisciplinary work, which draws on historical narratives, archives, and oral tradition. 

Her project, titled “Like Saturn” and curated by Myriam Ben Salah, draws inspiration from the “dévoré” technique, a textile process that involves etching away certain parts of the velvet with acid to reveal new patterns. This technique echoes Pierre Vergniaud’s famous phrase: “Like Saturn, the revolution devours its children.”  

The pavilion unfolds across several spaces: a room draped in wool bleached by light, followed by the “Salle du dévoré,” where the acid-etched fabric becomes a metaphor for wear and fragmentation. These rooms engage directly with the theme “In Minor Keys,” inviting visitors to slow down and turn their attention to the invisible, the slow, and the ancestral. 

An Unprecedented Institutional Crisis Rocks the Venice Biennale

This edition is marked by an unprecedented institutional crisis.  

A few days before the opening, the international jury, composed exclusively of women, announced its collective resignation. The jurors refused to award prizes to artists representing countries whose leaders are facing prosecution at the International Criminal Court. Faced with this exceptional situation, the Biennale’s organizers decided that this year’s famous Golden Lions would be awarded by the public at the exhibition’s closing. This marks a first in the event’s history and reflects the geopolitical and ethical tensions currently affecting the international contemporary art world. 

Upcoming Auction

Post-War & Contemporary Art
On June 24, 2026, at 3:00 PM
Aguttes Neuilly

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