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2026 Venice Biennale to Follow Through with Koyo Kouoh’s Curatorial Vision
In a press conference on May 27, the Venice Biennale announced that it will proceed with its 2026 edition, honoring the original vision of its late curator, Koyo Kouoh, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this month.
Kouoh had been developing her exhibition, which she titled “In Minor Keys,” since late 2024. Organizers of the Biennale noted that she had delivered a comprehensive theoretical framework, named her curatorial team, appointed writers for the catalog, and started identifying artists and artworks.
According to Kouoh’s curatorial text, her exposition invites audiences to “shift to a slower gear and tune in to the frequencies of the minor keys” in order to listen to the “songs of those producing beauty in spite of tragedy, the tunes of the fugitives recovering from the ruins, the harmonies of those repairing wounds and worlds.”
Her Biennale intends “neither a litany of commentary on world events, nor an inattention or escape from compounding and continuous intersecting crises.” Instead, she calls for a “radical reconnection with art’s natural habitat and role in society: that is the emotional, the visual, the sensory, the affective, the subjective.”
Furthermore, Kouoh emphasizes that artists are “channels to and between the minor keys, and listening to, rather than speaking for them, is at the core of the curatorial [concept].”
Set to open on May 9, 2026, the 61st Venice Biennale will be realized in full accordance with Kouoh’s plans, which will be carried out by a team of five advisors she had personally selected: curators Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Helene Pereira, and Rasha Salti; critic Siddhartha Mitter, who will oversee editorial materials; and Rory Tsapayi, who will assist the group.
Tuesday’s press conference opened with a video message from Kouoh welcoming visitors to Venice, recorded following her appointment in 2024. Her team then delivered an evocative reading of her curatorial text, beginning with: “Take a deep breath, exhale, drop your shoulders and close your eyes. . . . The music continues.”
“The minor keys refuse orchestral bombast and goose step military marches and come alive in quiet tones, the lower frequencies, the hums, constellation of poetry, all portents of improvisation to the elsewhere and the otherwise.”
“The minor keys are also small islands, worlds amid oceans . . . The intimate and convivial universes that refresh and sustain even in terrible times, indeed, especially in terrible times.”
Afterward, Pietrangelo Buttafuco, the Biennale’s president, affirmed: “We are realizing today her exhibition as she designed it, as she imagined it, as she gave to me personally.” Describing the moment he disclosed Kouoh’s appointment to her, Buttafuco recalled the poignant question she asked him: “May I tell this to my mother?”
Cristiana Costanzo, the Biennale’s lead press officer, said that the decision to carry out Kouoh’s show was done “with the full support” of her family. The press conference, which was unusually moving and often emotional, concluded with all attendees in Venice rising into a standing ovation.
Kouoh died earlier this month, aged 57, after a recent cancer diagnosis. Born in Cameroon and raised in Zurich, Switzerland, she was formerly executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa. Kouoh was the first African woman appointed to lead the Venice Biennale.
The full artist list for Kouoh’s presentation will be announced on February 25, 2026.
