The Venice Biennale is one of the world’s biggest and most important art events. It happens every two years in Venice, Italy, and brings together artists from many different countries. In 2026, the 61st edition of the Biennale will open on 9 May and run until 22 November. This year’s main curator is Koyo Kouoh, the Executive Director of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa.
Many countries have already announced which artists will represent them. Each artist will show a special project in their country’s pavilion, ranging from painting or sculpture to video, sound, or live performance.
This article gives a full list of the artists, the countries they represent, the curators they are working with, and what kind of work they will show.
Key Takeaways
- Belgium, Canada, Denmark, and 20+ other countries have officially announced their selected artists and curators for the 2026 Venice Biennale, opening May 9, 2026.
- Koyo Kouoh, Executive Director of Zeitz MoCAA, is the official curator of the 61st Venice Biennale.
- Countries like the Netherlands and Denmark are making history with first-ever performance works and the youngest artists selected.
Belgium
Artist: Miet Warlop
Curator: Caroline Dumalin
Project Title: IT NEVER SSST
Selected By: Flemish Minister of Culture Caroline Gennez
Institutional Partners: Morpho and Kanal-Centre Pompidou
Miet Warlop will present a performance described as a living and musical sculpture performed daily. The piece explores the need for human connection in a changing world. Past works include:
- One Song (2022), shown at the Avignon Festival, used sports as a symbol of mourning.
- Chant for Hope (2023) debuted at the Dhaka Art Summit. In it, performers cast words in plaster while Micha Volders’ music played.
Canada
Artist: Abbas Akhavan
Announced By: National Gallery of Canada
Commissioner: Jean-François Bélisle
Abbas Akhavan was born in Tehran and lives between Montreal and Berlin. His multidisciplinary work focuses on power, territory, and the politics of space. He won the Sobey Art Award in 2015. In November 2026, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis will present a mid-career survey of his work.
Denmark
Artist: Maja Malou Lyse
Born: 1993
Background: Known for her work on sex, culture, and media
Lyse uses installation, video, text, and performance. She is best known for hosting Sex med Maja, a Danish national TV show that aired from 2018 to 2019. She said, “It is absolutely surreal to be given this opportunity… I am ready to give the Biennale some sex appeal.”
Estonia
Artist: Merike Estna
Based In: Tallinn and Mexico City
Curator: Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art
Estna uses traditional craft techniques in her painting. She studied at the Estonian Academy of Arts (2005) and earned her MFA from Goldsmiths, University of London (2009). She later taught at the Estonian Academy from 2017 to 2023. The jury praised her for bringing painting into performance and social spaces.
Finland
Artist: Jenna Sutela
Based In: Berlin
Curator: Stefanie Hessler, Director of the Swiss Institute, New York
Sutela’s work explores biology, code, and language. In 2019, she launched an app that gave predictions based on lava lamps shaped like heads. Her installations often evolve over time and include collaboration with scientists.
France
Artist: Yto Barrada
Curator: French Institute
Jury Chair: Claire Le Restif
Barrada was born in Paris and raised in Tangier. Her practice includes photography, sculpture, film, and artist books. She studied political science at the Sorbonne. In her work, she is known for connecting social groups and exploring education and utopian ideas.
Great Britain
Artist: Lubaina Himid
Born: Zanzibar, 1954
Curator: British Pavilion (not yet named)
Himid moved to the UK as an infant. She helped lead the Black British Art Movement and curated major exhibitions in the 1980s, such as Five Black Women (1983) and The Thin Black Line (1985). Her work combines painting, sound, and sculpture and often addresses race, identity, and colonial history. She won the Turner Prize in 2017 and is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Central Lancashire.
Hungary
Artist: Endre Koronczi
Curator: Luca Cserhalmi
Announced By: Julia Fabényi, Director, Ludwig Museum
Koronczi’s project, Pneuma Cosmic, continues his research into the air as a metaphor for connection and awareness. He has been active in Hungarian conceptual art since the 1990s.
Iceland
Artist: Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir
Announced By: Icelandic Art Center
Statement From: Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Minister of Culture
Sigurðardóttir is a poet, filmmaker, composer, and artist. She co-founded the Kunstschlager Gallery and the Suttungur Poetry Festival. Her work explores the subconscious and symbolic through multiple media.
Ireland
Artist: Isabel Nolan
Curator: Georgina Jackson, Director of The Douglas Hyde Gallery
Announced By: Catherine Martin T.D., Minister for Arts
Nolan’s art deals with themes like love, cosmology, and mortality. She stated, “Art has a special capacity to test powerful kinds of community.”
Lithuania
Artist: Eglė Budvytytė
Curator: Louise O’Kelly
Commissioned By: Lithuanian National Museum of Art
Budvytytė works between Vilnius and Amsterdam. Her new multi-channel film builds on the work of archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, focusing on Neolithic spirituality and the link between the sacred and daily life.
Luxembourg
Artist: Aline Bouvy
Curator: Stilbé Schroeder
Bouvy works in sculpture, drawing, sound, and photography. She previously worked for 13 years as part of a duo with artist John Gillis. Her upcoming solo show at Casino Luxembourg in 2025 will precede her Venice presentation.
Aotearoa New Zealand
Artist: Fiona Pardington
Announced By: Creative New Zealand and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
Pardington is of Māori and Scottish descent. Her photography explores identity and still life. She said, “Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini” – “My strength is not as an individual, but as a collective.”
Nordic Countries
Artists: Klara Kristalova, Benjamin Orlow, Tori Wrånes
Curator: Anna Mustonen, Chief Curator at Kiasma
Their works combine fairy-tale surrealism, labor metaphors, and eerie performance. The show will engage with Sverre Fehn’s architectural design to blur boundaries between dream and environment.
Switzerland
Project Title: The Unfinished Business of Living Together
Artists: Gianmaria Andreetta, Luca Beeler, Nina Wakeford, Miriam Laura Leonardi, Lithic Alliance, Yul Tomatala
This group project was inspired by Telearena, a 1978 TV debate on sexuality. The project challenges notions of tolerance and identity. The collective asks, “When and where is this happening? Does the archive have authority here?”
Taiwan
Artist: Li Yi-Fan
Born: 1989, Taipei
Curator: Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Li’s videos use game engines and explore ethics, communication, and digital perception. His 2023 film What Is Your Favorite Primitive won the Golden Harvest Award at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and was featured at the 13th Taipei Biennial.
The Netherlands
Artist: Dries Verhoeven
Curator: Rieke Vos
Organizer: Mondriaan Fund
Verhoeven will present the first performance-based work in the Dutch Pavilion. He addresses themes of crisis, public space, and Europe’s uncertain future. In his 2021 project Brothers, rise up to freedom, ten Bulgarian migrant workers performed songs about labor in an automated warehouse.
