61st Venice Biennale Opens with 24 National Pavilions

The 61st Art Biennale opened with a press preview day on May 8 2026 under a relentless drizzle that turned Venice’s Giardini park into a giant mud patch scattered with unavoidable puddles. Demonstrators from the Pussy Riot group held a protest at the Venice Biennale's International Art Exhibition the day before on May 7 2026. The first public day is scheduled for May 9 2026.

A mass resignation of the Biennale jury over Israel's and Russia's participation was followed by protests. The resignations fractured the jury and prompted countries to withdraw from this year’s Venice Biennale. Ceremonies at this year’s Venice Biennale were postponed.

More than two dozen national pavilions hosted individual exhibitions inside the park, offering visitors respite from the rain. The Venice Biennale is the world’s oldest art exhibition. The 61st Venice Biennale runs until November 22 2026.

The pavilions, generally organized by governments’ cultural organizations, sometimes with outside curators and most often featuring national artists, became flashpoints for controversy in the months preceding the event. The Biennale is meant to be an international gathering showcasing the cream of the art world, with a humongous exhibition at its center surrounded by the national pavilions.

None of that focus was evident from the discourse this year, which centered mainly on the news dominating the individual countries involved.

The sequence began with the jury resignation, which fractured the panel and triggered the wave of withdrawals and postponements. Protests followed the mass resignation, culminating in the Pussy Riot demonstration on May 7. By the press preview on May 8, the Giardini’s muddy paths reflected both the weather and the lingering tensions that had overshadowed preparations for months.