THE VENICE BIENNALE 2026: FOUR VISITS
MAKING SENSE OF AN EVER MORE PERPLEXING WORLD
September 14, 16, 18, 23
Organized under the title “In Minor Keys,” this year’s Biennale invites us to slow down, contemplate, and reconsider our place in the world—both as individuals and in relation to our environment. While the existential question of sustainability looms large, the exhibition also foregrounds other urgent global issues: war, displacement, migration, demographic transformation, and the enduring legacies of colonialism.
The most striking aspect of the works in the main pavilions—the Giardini and the Arsenale—is their theatricality. Walking through the installations feels like exploring a series of theatrical stages, each serving as a platform for a distinct performance. This creates a powerful paradox: the exhibitions seem simultaneously interconnected and fragmented, weaving a broader narrative filled with unexpected convergences, divergences, and digressions. This series of lectures presents some of the highlights of the Biennale, spanning the main exhibition sites, city-wide installations, and official collateral events.
1. Endangered
This lecture focuses on installations that address the question of survival and sustainability in a most emphatic manner. Highlights include the national pavilions of Ukraine, Austria, and Japan, alongside contributions from individual artists such as Uriel Orlow (Switzerland), Annalee Davis (Barbados), Hala Schoukair (Beirut), Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka (Canada), Alfredo Jaar (Chile and Portugal), and Theo Eshetu (London and Berlin).
2. Memory, History, and the Archive
This lecture focuses on artist who draw our attention to our engagement with the past – both as individuals and as communities: how we remember and forget. Featured artists include Beverly Buchanan (USA), Predrag Djakovic (Serbia), Joanna Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige (Lebanon), Hagar Ophir (Jerusalem and Berlin), Berni Searle (South Africa), Jawad al Malhi (East Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi), and the art collective Monument (Slovenia).
3. Displacements and Migrations
This lecture looks at works of art from the Biennale that explore stories of movement and exile. It features the Pavilion of India as well as the contributions of Abbas Akhavan (Canada), Adebunmi Gbadebo (USA), Florence Lazar (France), Eustaquio Neves (Brazil), Johannes Phokela (South Africa), and Mladen Bundalo (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
4. Reconnecting with Ourselves and One Other
This lecture centers on artists whose projects highlight the need for slowing down and deeper reflection on what we see and experience. We will be discussing a range of participants, including Alma Allen (USA Pavilion), Michael Joo (USA), Armen Agop (Egypt Pavilion), Andreas Angelidakis (Greek Pavillion), Nina Katchadourian (USA), Kennedy Yanko (USA), Leonard Pongo (Belgium and Congo), Matías Duville (Argentina), and Eric Baudelaire (USA and France).
Structure: Each lecture is a live event via zoom: a brief check and introduction, to ensure that participants have been able to connect, followed by a slide-presentation of about 50-60 minutes, and a Q&A discussion of about 20-30 minutes. Participants do not have to sign up for a zoom account. The link to the lecture is sent on the day of the event.
Fee: 20 USD per lecture, per person/ 80 USD for the series