The Gulf at the Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale is gearing up for its 61st edition, an event which will prove to be a monumental and unique affair for its focus on intimacy and anti-spectacular art. The biennale, running from May 9 to November 22, 2026, is being realised posthumously following the passing of its appointed curator Koyo Kouoh and continues the exhibition she planned titled In Minor Keys. Exploring subtle and marginal expressions, the biennale’s theme moves away from the portrayal of global crises toward, what La Biennale called “the emotional, sensory and affective registers of art.” 

From the Gulf region Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have confirmed exhibitions at their pavilions. For the former, Saudi Palestinian artist Dana Awartani, known for her multidisciplinary works that reimagine Middle Eastern historical forms and traditions, will represent the Kingdom in a show curated by Antonia Carver, director of Art Jameel, alongside Saudi Iraqi curator Hafsa Alkhudairi. Awartani will present a monumental site-specific exhibition at the Kingdom’s permanent pavilion at the Arsenal exploring how conflict risks cultural erasure and identity. “My practice is rooted in foregrounding Middle Eastern cultural histories through the revival of craft practices and the preservation of the region’s globally important material heritage,” Awartani explained in the pavilion’s announcement. Her recent work, like the installation Come, let me heal your wounds. Let me mend your broken bones, staged during the last biennale in 2024, reflects on the loss of historical buildings and centuries of heritage due to conflict in the Middle East. Awartani believes that when edifices are destructed not only is the structure abolished, but also a means inhabitants have of identifying themselves with their homeland and their identity. This is cultural erasure and it is often, she believes, overlooked globally. 

The National Pavilion of the UAE has appointed Bana Kattan, Associate Head of Exhibitions at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, as the curator of the pavilion. While the exhibiting artist or artists for the UAE pavilion have yet to be announced, the pavilion, commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, will highlight the cultural and historical evolution of the UAE’s contemporary art scene. “Having worked extensively in the region and alongside a wide range of multigenerational and transdisciplinary artists from the Arab world, I look forward to contributing my experience to a project that reflects the UAE’s vibrant artistic landscape while engaging with broader histories, complexities, and conversations,” said Kattan in the pavilion’s opening statement. Kattan, who was born in Abu Dhabi and raised in the United Arab Emirates, is strongly connected to the UAE’s cultural landscape and has used her work to engage the sociopolitical and historical themes of the region while jointly fostering the voices of emerging and established artists from the Gulf and wider Middle East across generations. 

Qatar and Kuwait, which have participated in previous editions, have not yet confirmed their attendance. During a challenging time for the region, these artistic presentations aim to offer an understanding of the Gulf’s unique histories, cultures and identities within the context of the greater Middle East region.