With In Minor Keys, the 61st International Art Exhibition turns Venice into the world’s most refined stage for contemporary art, bringing together artists, maisons, foundations, sponsors and global patrons.
Venice has always known how to transform culture into presence. From 9 May to 22 November 2026, the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia unfolds across the Giardini, the Arsenale and multiple venues throughout the city with In Minor Keys, the curatorial project conceived by Koyo Kouoh. The exhibition arrives with the emotional force of a legacy: Kouoh, appointed Artistic Director of the Visual Arts Department in November 2024, had already shaped the theoretical text, the artists, the works, the catalogue, the graphic identity and the spatial architecture before her passing in May 2025. La Biennale chose to realise the project according to her original curatorial direction, supported by the team she had selected: Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira, Rasha Salti, Siddhartha Mitter and Rory Tsapayi. Venice Biennale 2026 brands are not merely present around the exhibition. They form part of a wider cultural constellation in which luxury, patronage, hospitality, mobility, publishing, education and philanthropy meet the most influential platform of contemporary art. At the centre stands In Minor Keys: a title that speaks of lower frequencies, intimate tones, thresholds, gardens, courtyards, schools, processions and spaces of rest. The exhibition brings together 110 participants — artists, duos, collectives and organisations — selected through resonances, affinities and possible convergences across distant practices and geographies.
Koyo Kouoh’s Biennale: a sensorial score for contemporary art
The 2026 Biennale is conceived as a composition rather than a sequence. Kouoh’s curatorial language moves through shrines, processions, schools and oases, with the exhibition design entrusted to Wolff Architects from Cape Town. At the Giardini and the Arsenale, indigo banners suspended from the beams mark thresholds between different artistic universes, creating a rhythm of passage, attention and encounter. At the heart of the exhibition are two major figures: Issa Samb and Beverly Buchanan. Samb, artist, poet, playwright and co-founder of the revolutionary Dakar-based collective Laboratoire Agit’Art, was a constant reference for Kouoh. Buchanan, known for her anti-monumental approach to land art and public sculpture, explored places, communities and unresolved historical memories with rare intensity. Around them, In Minor Keys unfolds as a living archive of artistic generosity, social practice and poetic intelligence.
Among the artists and participants invited to the International Exhibition are Pio Abad, Laurie Anderson, Kader Attia, Sammy Baloji, Ranti Bam, Alvaro Barrington, Éric Baudelaire, Beverly Buchanan, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons & Kamaal Malak, Nick Cave, Carolina Caycedo, Dawn DeDeaux, Godfried Donkor, Marcel Duchamp, Edouard Duval-Carrié, Torkwase Dyson, Theo Eshetu, Alfredo Jaar, Carsten Höller, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Michael Joo, Werewere Liking, Alice Maher, Senzeni Marasela, Guadalupe Maravilla, Manuel Mathieu, Tiona Nekkia McClodden, Big Chief Demond Melancon, Wangechi Mutu, Otobong Nkanga, Pauline Oliveros, Uriel Orlow, Ebony G. Patterson, Thania Petersen, Johannes Phokela, Walid Raad, Mohammed Z. Rahman, Tabita Rezaire, Khaled Sabsabi, Berni Searle, Tsai Ming-liang, Carrie Schneider, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Linda Goode Bryant, Gala Porras-Kim, Temitayo Ogunbiyi and Fabrice Aragno.
One hundred national participations, one global geography
Alongside the International Exhibition, the Biennale Arte 2026 features 100 National Participations: 29 in the Giardini, 25 in the Arsenale and 46 across Venice. Seven countries are taking part for the first time: the Republic of Guinea, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Vietnam. El Salvador participates for the first time with its own pavilion. The Italian Pavilion, located at the Tese delle Vergini in the Arsenale, presents Con te con tutto by Chiara Camoni, curated by Cecilia Canziani and commissioned by Angelo Piero Cappello. Camoni imagines the pavilion as a landscape in transformation, where sculpture, human bodies, natural materials, recycled plastics, industrial remnants and found objects create a dialogue between the archaic and the contemporary. The project includes works and references involving Fausto Melotti, Alberto Martini, Marisa Merz, an amphora from the late seventh century BC, Annamaria Ajmone with Canti fossili, and Alice Rohrwacher with Che cosa resta, created through unpublished film material and references to La Chimera.
The Italian Pavilion also confirms the role of corporate and philanthropic support in contemporary cultural production. It is realised with the support of main sponsor ZEGNA and sponsor Banca Ifis, together with several donors. Accessibility is a major dimension of the project: through the collaboration with Fondazione Amplifon and the Ciao! initiative, 30,000 elderly residents in 330 care homes across seven countries will be able to visit the exhibition remotely. The Venice Pavilion, titled Note Persistenti, is curated by Giovanna Zabotti with the participation of Denis Isaia and Cesare Biasini Selvaggi. It moves through four symbolic dimensions of the city: submerged, domestic, mythological and collective. The project involves Dardust, Paolo Fantin, Cisco, H-Farm, Alberto Scodro, and Ilya and Emilia Kabakov with the inhabitants of Venice. Its main partner is BPER Banca La Galleria Corporate Collection, whose participation strengthens the link between cultural heritage, corporate collecting and civic identity.
Bvlgari: the Roman maison enters the Biennale as Exclusive Partner
Among the defining presences of Biennale Arte 2026, Bvlgari occupies a central role. The Roman high jewellery maison becomes Exclusive Partner of the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia for the next three editions, until 2030. For the 2026 edition, Bvlgari presents a project by Lotus L. Kang at the Bvlgari Pavilion in the Spazio Esedra of the Giardini.
Kang’s installation, The Face of Desire is Loss, explores time, memory, transience and transformation. Suspended sheets of unfixed photographic film, steel beams, tatami, projected objects and 35 mm film strips turn the pavilion into a luminous device. The surfaces remain sensitive to the surrounding environment, changing throughout the Biennale in response to light and humidity. Bvlgari’s presence extends beyond the Giardini through Fondazione Bvlgari, which participates among the Collateral Events with its first exhibition featuring two Italian artists. Hosted in the monumental rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, the project brings together Momentary Monument – The Library by Lara Favaretto and Fragments of Fire Worship by Monia Ben Hamouda. Bvlgari’s cultural commitment also includes major heritage and contemporary art initiatives, from the restoration of the Scala d’Oro at the Doge’s Palace and works by Paolo Veronese from San Pietro Martire in Murano to Roman projects such as the Spanish Steps, the mosaics of the Baths of Caracalla, the Torlonia marbles, the MAXXI BVLGARI Prize and the partnership with the Whitney Biennial.
illycaffè: the art cup returns to Venice
illycaffè renews its historic collaboration with Biennale Arte as Main Sponsor. The Trieste-based company, led by CEO Cristina Scocchia, transforms its iconic cup into a three-dimensional canvas through a new illy Art Collection created by four artists from In Minor Keys: Alice Maher, Werewere Liking, Thania Petersen and Mohammed Z. Rahman.
Each cup becomes a tonal variation on the exhibition’s title: Maher moves through myth and the body, Liking through collective colour and ritual force, Petersen through textile and botanical memory, Rahman through word and image as political gesture. During the exhibition, visitors will also be able to taste the illy blend at the refreshment points inside the Biennale venues.
American Express, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vela–VeneziaUnica and Quattro Gatti Gin
American Express participates as Official Sponsor of the 61st International Art Exhibition, renewing its commitment to art, culture and premium lifestyle. Throughout the Biennale, American Express will be the preferred payment solution for access tickets and services. Dedicated ticket offices for American Express Card Members will be available in both exhibition venues, enhancing the visitor experience around one of the world’s most significant art events. Bloomberg Philanthropies continues its collaboration with La Biennale, active since 2022 across Biennale Arte and Biennale Architettura, and once again brings the official Bloomberg Connects app to the exhibition. Vela – VeneziaUnica, the commercial mobility and marketing company of the City of Venice, supports the Biennale through citywide communication, integration with AVM/Actv public transport planning and the VeneziaUnica service ecosystem. From 6 May to 22 November, a dedicated free shuttle will connect the Giardino delle Vergini and the Arsenale Nord.
Quattro Gatti Gin is the Official Gin of Biennale Arte 2026. For the occasion, it has created The Reflection, the official cocktail of the exhibition, developed by Brand Ambassador Mattia Cilia together with the bar team of The St. Regis Venice. The cocktail is also the centrepiece of the international project Road to Biennale Arte 2026, connecting The St. Regis Rome, The St. Regis New York and The St. Regis Venice. During the Biennale, The Reflection will be served at the Arts Bar of The St. Regis Venice, while Quattro Gatti will accompany guests across the official venues in the Giardini and the Arsenale. Rai, Media Partner of the 61st International Art Exhibition, will follow the Biennale with dedicated content across television, radio and digital platforms.
Education, accessibility and new cultural communities
Biennale Arte 2026 also strengthens its educational platform. The programme is addressed to universities, schools, families, professionals, companies and art lovers, with guided tours, workshops and interactive initiatives led by selected and trained Biennale operators. The activities are available in Italian, Italian Sign Language and eleven foreign languages. Within this field, F.I.L.A. – Fabbrica Italiana Lapis ed Affini, through the Giotto brand, is the Official Colour of the Educational activities of Biennale Arte 2026. IBSA Foundation for Scientific Research supports the Educational activities, while Phileas contributes as a donor.
The donors: an international map of cultural patronage
The prestige of Biennale Arte 2026 is also reflected in the quality of its donor network. The official list includes Teiger Foundation, The Hearthland Foundation, Getty, Lambent Foundation, Ford Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art, Ammodo, LUMA Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Bukhman Foundation, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Rauschenberg Foundation, Leomi Foundation, Christian Dior Couture, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Instituto Guimarães Rosa, A&L Berg Foundation, Ed Bradley Family Foundation, Hill Art Foundation, Arison Art Foundation, Samsung Foundation of Culture, Trellis Art Fund, Save Venice, Josef & Anni Albers Foundation, Batia and Idan Ofer, Cav. Simon Mordant AO and Catriona Mordant AM, Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, The Cultivist, Holly Peterson Foundation, Syz Family, Anita Blanchard M.D. and Martin Nesbitt, Shah Garg Foundation, James Howell Foundation, Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger, Pete and Michelle Scantland, The Helis Foundation, Mercedes Vilardell, Art to Heritage, Gitti Hug and Cristina Bechtler, Miwa Taguchi, Sarah De Blasio, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, LYRA Art Foundation, Oolite Arts, Rennie Collection Vancouver and ROAR AFRICA.
This refined geography of support brings together American philanthropy, European foundations, private collections, international maisons, cultural institutions, patrons of craft, heritage and contemporary creation. Names such as Christian Dior Couture, Samsung Foundation of Culture, Michelangelo Foundation, Save Venice, The Cultivist, Rennie Collection and ROAR AFRICA reveal the Biennale as a rare platform where art, reputation and long-term cultural responsibility converge.
Venice, where patronage becomes legacy
Biennale Arte 2026 gives form to a contemporary grammar of patronage. Bvlgari, illycaffè, American Express, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vela–VeneziaUnica, Quattro Gatti Gin, Rai, ZEGNA, Banca Ifis, Fondazione Amplifon, BPER Banca La Galleria Corporate Collection, F.I.L.A. with Giotto, IBSA Foundation, Phileas, Christian Dior Couture, Samsung Foundation of Culture, Michelangelo Foundation, Save Venice, The Cultivist and ROAR AFRICA shape a cultural landscape in which brands and institutions support not only an exhibition, but a shared idea of permanence.
In Venice, art acquires a singular authority. It moves through pavilions, palaces, libraries, gardens, waterside paths and conversations. It gathers artists, curators, collectors, maisons, foundations and audiences into one extraordinary civic ritual. In a time that moves at relentless speed, the Biennale still offers something rare: the elegance of duration, and the power of culture to leave a mark.
Read the italian version: https://www.milanoluxurylife.it/biennale-arte-2026-brand-artisti-mecenatismo-venezia/
