61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia

The Bukhman Foundation is proud to support the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia , In Minor Keys , conceived by Koyo Kouoh. Following Kouoh’s passing in May 2025, the Exhibition is being realised with the full support of her family and in continuity with her vision. The project preserves and carries forward the curatorial framework she developed with exceptional clarity and commitment.

In Minor Keys unfolds as a nuanced exploration of contemporary art, grounded in dialogue, relational thinking, and a deep attentiveness to sensorial and collective experience. The Exhibition brings together 111 invited participants, alongside 99 National Participations and 31 Collateral Events, reflecting an expansive and interconnected understanding of artistic practice.

As outlined in her curatorial text, the Exhibition invites visitors into “sequences of exhilarating journeys that address the sensate and the affective,” opening up space for wonder, reflection, and connection beyond the constraints of accelerated time and productivity.

Realised by a curatorial team appointed by Kouoh, comprising advisors Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira and Rasha Salti; editor-in-chief Siddhartha Mitter; and research assistant Rory Tsapayi, the Exhibition is the outcome of an intensive and collaborative international process, developed in close dialogue with La Biennale di Venezia.

The Exhibition is on view from 9 May to 22 November 2026 at the Giardini, the Arsenale, and venues throughout Venice.

About Koyo Kouoh

Koyo Kouoh (Cameroon, 24 December, 1967 / Switzerland, 10 May, 2025) was the Executive Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) in Cape Town. Prior to this appointment, she was the founding Artistic Director of RAW Material Company, a centre for art, knowledge and society in Dakar, Senegal, as well as part of the curatorial teams for documenta 12 (2007) and documenta 13 (2012). Kouoh is the recipient of the Grand Prix Meret Oppenheim 2020, the Swiss Grand Award for Art that honours achievements in the fields of art, architecture, critique, and exhibitions.

She lived and worked alternately in Cape Town, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; and Basel, Switzerland.

About La Biennale di Venezia

The International Art Exhibition, first held in 1895, is the founding and flagship event of La Biennale di Venezia and has since become one of the world’s most significant art exhibitions. Its enduring prestige lies in its ability to anticipate emerging artistic trends while continually recontextualising artists and works from different periods through new perspectives.

Over time, the Exhibition has welcomed countless leading artists, with prominent critics and art historians curating its central exhibitions and national pavilions. This long lineage of key figures in 20th- and 21st-century art has helped shape the “pluralism of voices” that has defined La Biennale di Venezia since its inception.

Images

Padiglione Centrale Giardini. Photo by Francesco Galli, Courtesy La Biennale di Venezia.

Overview Arsenale. Photo by Andrea Avezzù, Courtesy La Biennale di Venezia.