The Venice Biennale Arte 2026 remains open until 22 November, after opening on 9 May. The main exhibition, “In Minor Keys”, occupies the Giardini, the Arsenale, other venues across the city and Forte Marghera. The official calendar distinguishes professional preview days from public visiting hours.

The project was conceived by curator Koyo Kouoh, who died in 2025. La Biennale di Venezia said the edition is being realised according to her conception, with the support of her family. It is not a show “without a curator”, but one completed after the death of its author.

No Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement were awarded this edition. Organisers explained that Kouoh had not yet named the recipients. The absence of career awards follows from the curatorial timetable; it is not a cancellation of the Biennale’s entire honours system.

National pavilions and collateral events keep their own programmes through November. Visitors should check tickets, hours and access rules on La Biennale’s website. This report does not reproduce the artworks on display.

The “minor keys” theme proposes a reading of contemporary art that avoids grandstanding. Interpretation of the works remains with audiences and critics. The Venetian institution provides the frame, not a compulsory aesthetic verdict.

Until closing, the city remains host to a long season, with visitor flows and pressure on infrastructure. For readers, the essential point is that the exhibition is under way, not about to open, and that the conceptual authorship belongs to Kouoh.

Image: Didier Descouens, Porta Magna of the Arsenale, Venice, 9 May 2012, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The historic gate, not the 2026 exhibition artworks. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Biennale Arte 2026 — La Biennale di Venezia.