The 61st Venice Biennale Runs Through November 22: Awards Decided by Visitor Vote After Jury Resigns; Ei Arakawa-Nash at the Japan Pavilion

The 61st International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale (Biennale Arte 2026) is on view in Venice, Italy, until Sunday, November 22, 2026. It opened on May 9. The main exhibition, “In Minor Keys,” was conceived by curator Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2025, and realized by the team that had been preparing it with her. The main exhibition features 110 invited participants, and there are 100 national participations. Based on announcements by La Biennale di Venezia and the Japan Foundation, this article covers Kouoh’s concept and the team that realized it, the venues and scale, what has happened to the awards, the Japan Pavilion exhibition, and hours and prices for those visiting before it closes.

Japan first officially participated in the Venice Biennale in 1952 and built the Japan Pavilion in 1956. Since 1976, the Japan Foundation has served as organizer and commissioner of the Japan Pavilion exhibition. This year, marking the pavilion’s 70th anniversary, it presents Ei Arakawa-Nash’s exhibition “Grass Babies, Moon Babies.” After the Biennale closes, it travels to Germany, and a homecoming exhibition will be held at Artizon Museum in Tokyo in 2027. Dates of art festivals and art fairs in Japan are compiled in our art fair and art festival calendar.

Koyo Kouoh’s concept: Realized by her team after her death

According to the Biennale’s announcements, Kouoh accepted the invitation from the Biennale’s president on October 17, 2024, and the board appointed her director of the Visual Arts Department on November 5. When Kouoh died suddenly on May 10, 2025, the Biennale decided to realize her exhibition. It said the aim was to carry the project forward as she had conceived and defined it, and to preserve, enhance and disseminate her ideas and work.

It is being realized by the team that worked with Kouoh: advisers Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira and Rasha Salti, editor-in-chief Siddhartha Mitter and research assistant Rory Tsapayi. The introduction on the official website consists of two parts, a text by Kouoh herself and one by “Kouoh’s team.” The exhibition design is by Wolff Architects of Cape Town, whom Kouoh engaged in early 2025. The visual identity was created by Clarissa Herbst with Alex Sonderegger.

The “minor keys” of the title refer to the minor keys of music. The curatorial text Kouoh sent to the Biennale’s president on April 8, 2025, says the exhibition invites visitors to tune in to minor keys and listen to the signals that the earth and life continue to send. Minor keys are also small islands and worlds amid the ocean, and artists are the conduits to and between minor keys, it says. The exhibition is not divided into sections but organized around underlying priorities.

Venues and scale: 110 participants in the main exhibition, 100 national participations

The venues are the two main sites, the Giardini and the Arsenale, plus locations across Venice and Forte Marghera. The 110 participants invited to the main exhibition include individual artists as well as duos, collectives and artist-run organizations. The Biennale says Kouoh selected the participants from many regions, paying particular attention to resonances and affinities.

There are 100 national participations: 29 in the Giardini, 25 in the Arsenale and 46 in the historic city center. Seven countries are participating for the first time, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Vietnam, and El Salvador has its own pavilion for the first time. On May 4, the Biennale announced that Iran would not take part. There are 31 Collateral Events approved by the Biennale.

According to the Biennale, on opening day, May 9, about 10,000 people had visited the Giardini and the Arsenale by 18:00, about 10% more than on the 2024 opening day. The preview (pre-opening) drew 27,935 visitors, 4% more than the 2024 preview. As of October 25, attendance for the run as a whole had not been posted in the news on the official website.

The awards: The jury resigns, and visitors vote instead

The way the awards are decided changed just before the opening. On April 22, the Biennale had announced a five-member international jury chaired by Solange Oliveira Farkas. The jury was to choose the Golden Lion for best national participation, the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition and the Silver Lion for a promising young participant, with the award ceremony scheduled for May 9.

On April 30, the jury resigned. The same day, the Biennale announced two awards chosen by visitor vote, the “Visitors’ Lions,” in two categories: best participant in the main exhibition “In Minor Keys” and best national participation. The announcement referred to the jury’s resignation and the exceptional nature of the current international geopolitical situation, saying the Biennale wishes to remain a place of truce in the name of art, culture and artistic freedom. The award ceremony was moved to Sunday, November 22, the last day of the public run.

Ticket holders who have visited both the Giardini and the Arsenale can vote. Visits are verified through the ticketing system’s records, and a voting link is emailed at least 24 hours after entry to the second venue. One vote is cast per category in a single procedure. Collectives are treated as one participant, and all national participations on the official list are eligible. Voting is open throughout the run, from May 9 to November 22, with results to be announced at the end.

The Biennale’s announcement does not give a reason for the jury’s resignation. According to Artnet in the US, the jury had said in a “statement of intent” issued on April 22 that it would not consider countries facing prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and it said its resignation was based on that statement. According to the Italian art outlet Finestre sull’Arte, on opening day, May 9, dozens of artists and people involved with several national participations issued a statement on e-flux supporting the jury and withdrawing from consideration for the Visitors’ Lions.

No Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement will be awarded this time; the Biennale explains that Kouoh did not have time to decide on it. As of October 25, no winners had been announced. Developments in major awards in Japan and abroad are compiled in our roundup of 2026 art and design awards.

Japan Pavilion: Ei Arakawa-Nash, “Grass Babies, Moon Babies”

On April 24, 2025, the Japan Foundation announced that Ei Arakawa-Nash would represent the Japan Pavilion. A six-member international exhibition committee commissioned by the Foundation narrowed the field to seven artists and groups in a first round and made its choice after evaluating individual proposals in a second round. On June 16, the Foundation announced the co-curators, Mizuki Takahashi, executive director and chief curator of CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile) in Hong Kong, and Lisa Horikawa, senior curator at National Gallery Singapore, and on November 5 it announced the exhibition’s title.

According to the Foundation, the exhibition grew out of the parenting experience of Arakawa-Nash, a queer artist who became a parent of twins in 2024. Visitors take part in the performance as caregivers to baby dolls, while their behavior is in turn watched by 208 baby dolls. The Foundation says the exhibition transforms the Japan Pavilion into a space where visitors experience the work of “care,” raising babies as symbols of the future, while questioning the kind of world children will live in.

Marking the pavilion’s 70th anniversary, the title draws on the circulation between garden and building that its architect, Takamasa Yoshizaka, had in mind. It combines “grass,” symbolizing the garden, with “moon,” associated with time and the heart. The artist says it is also an homage to the experimental Sogetsu Art Center (the name “Sogetsu” combines the characters for grass and moon), which inspired the artist during student days in New York.

On August 30, September 1 and September 2, a participatory opera was staged, starting at the Japan Pavilion and moving to the Korean Pavilion. The Foundation positions it as an initiative leading to the first official collaboration between pavilions in the Japan Pavilion’s history. On Friday, November 20, before the closing, the pavilion will hold a tour in which the artist moves through the venue with children living in Venice while caring for baby dolls, and “Cloud Babies, Night Babies,” an event for listening after sunset to an eight-channel sound work created for the exhibition by Sergei Tcherepnin. On the final day, Sunday, November 22, Arakawa-Nash and End of Fall will perform. An overview of the Japan Pavilion is available on the Japan Foundation’s Japan Pavilion page.

The exhibition will travel after the Biennale closes. It will be shown at the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hanover, Germany, from Saturday, December 12, 2026 to Sunday, February 28, 2027, followed by a homecoming exhibition in the 6th-floor gallery of Artizon Museum in Tokyo from Saturday, June 19 to Monday, September 20, 2027 (national holiday). The homecoming exhibition is organized by the Ishibashi Foundation’s Artizon Museum and the Japan Foundation. Major exhibitions in Japan in 2027 are introduced in our article on the 2027 exhibition schedule.

Four weeks to the close: Hours, prices and the final 10 days

From October 25, there are four weeks until the close. Autumn hours have applied since September 29: the Giardini and the Arsenale are both open 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:45). They are closed on Mondays but open on Monday, November 16. Among individual pavilions, the Austrian Pavilion is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:45), and the Dutch Pavilion is closed on Tuesdays and on Mondays when the Biennale is open.

A single ticket, allowing one entry each to the Giardini and the Arsenale, costs €30 for adults, €20 for those 65 and over and Venice residents, and €16 for students and under-26s. The two venues may be visited on different days. A ticket valid for three consecutive days costs €40 and one valid for seven consecutive days €50; closing days are not counted for either. Children 6 and under enter free. The prices page says tickets and guided tours can be purchased online only.

According to the official website, ACTV water buses run from Piazzale Roma and the railway station to the Arsenale (stop ARSENALE) on lines 1 and 4.1, and to the Giardini (stop GIARDINI BIENNALE) on lines 1, 4.1 and 5.1. In 2026, the City of Venice’s access fee applies on 60 nonconsecutive days from April 3, and the Biennale advises checking the applicable dates and fees on the city’s dedicated website.

During the final 10 days, from Friday, November 13 to Sunday, November 22, performances, lectures, debates and roundtables will be held at the Arsenale. The “Assembly,” bringing together 10 artist-run organizations and collectives, includes RAW Material Company, which Kouoh founded in Dakar, and Gudskul of Jakarta, among others. Felwine Sarr gives a lecture at 11:00 on Saturday, November 14, and the program closes with Laurie Anderson’s solo performance “In This World” from 16:00 on the final day, Sunday, November 22. A valid ticket is required to attend, and events at the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale are free while space lasts.

Overview: The 61st International Art Exhibition and the Japan Pavilion

Dates: Saturday, May 9 – Sunday, November 22, 2026
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:45; from September 29)
Closed: Mondays (open on November 16)
Venues: Giardini, Arsenale, locations across Venice, Forte Marghera (Italy)
Admission: Adults €30; 65 and over and Venice residents €20; students and under-26s €16; 6 and under free
Curator: Koyo Kouoh
Organizer: La Biennale di Venezia
Japan Pavilion: Ei Arakawa-Nash, “Grass Babies, Moon Babies” (organizer and commissioner: the Japan Foundation)
Official website: https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2026

Editor’s perspective

This Biennale took the form of realizing, as she conceived it, the main exhibition of a curator who died almost a year before the opening. The Biennale stated explicitly that it would proceed as she had conceived and defined it, and the introduction on the official website includes a text in the team’s name. It also explains that the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement was not awarded because Kouoh had no time to decide on it. The policy of not having the organizer fill in elements absent from her concept is reflected not only in the exhibition but also in how the awards were handled.

The award system changed too. For the Visitors’ Lions, a voting link is sent only after visits to both venues are verified through ticket entry records, a design that limits voting to people who have actually visited both sites. Meanwhile, some artists and national participations have said they are withdrawing from consideration, but the Biennale’s voting procedure page does not address withdrawals. On moving the ceremony to the final day, the Biennale cites as precedent the 2021 International Architecture Exhibition held during the pandemic.

For readers in Japan, the concrete point of contact is that the Japan Pavilion exhibition will travel to Germany and Tokyo after the close. The Japan Foundation made announcements in stages: the artist (April 2025), the curators (June), the title (November) and the opening (May 2026). During the run, the Japan and Korean pavilions collaborated officially for the first time, staging an opera that moved between the two. The homecoming exhibition is scheduled to open at Artizon Museum on Saturday, June 19, 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Is there still time to go?

It runs until Sunday, November 22. It is closed on Mondays but open on Monday, November 16. Since September 29, hours have been 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:45), and tickets are purchased online.

When will the award results be announced?

They are scheduled to be announced at the award ceremony on Sunday, November 22. The awards are the two “Visitors’ Lions” categories chosen by visitor vote, and ticket holders who have visited both venues can vote. No Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement will be awarded this time.

Can the Japan Pavilion exhibition be seen in Japan?

A homecoming exhibition will be held at Artizon Museum in Tokyo from Saturday, June 19 to Monday, September 20, 2027 (national holiday). Before that, it will be shown at the Kestner Gesellschaft in Hanover, Germany, from Saturday, December 12, 2026 to Sunday, February 28, 2027.

*Information as of October 25, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Installation view of Ei Arakawa-Nash, “Grass Babies, Moon Babies” (2026), Japan Pavilion, 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Photo: Uli Holz, courtesy of the Japan Foundation (from the Japan Foundation’s press release)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on official announcements and public materials from La Biennale di Venezia and the Japan Foundation (as of October 25, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team