Venice Biennale Returns With India Back on the Global Art Stage
The 61st Venice Biennale opens to the public on 9 May 2026, setting the tone for the international art calendar as Venice hosts national pavilions, independent commissions and museum shows across the city.
A central development this year is the return of India to the Biennale’s national pavilion program after a period of absence, a move that restores one of the world’s largest and most dynamic art scenes to the official lineup.
Collector and philanthropist Kiran Nadar, who has spent four decades assembling a major collection of modern and contemporary Indian art, has been a key advocate for India’s renewed presence in Venice. Through the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Delhi, she has helped build the institutional framework needed for sustained international engagement and is now planning a new museum complex to house more than 16,000 works in an expanded, purpose-built space.
The Biennale’s 61st edition, titled "In Minor Keys" and honoring the vision of late curator Koyo Kouoh, coincides with a broader program of exhibitions throughout Venice, including installations in historic palazzi, new foundations and posthumous presentations that underscore the city’s role as a global platform for contemporary art.
The opening of the Biennale anchors a wider May schedule of museum and gallery shows, from "Moore: Monumental Nature" at Kew Gardens in London and "Skelter: Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince" at Ca’ Corner della Regina in Venice to "Amy Sherald: American Sublime" at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and design-focused exhibitions in Berlin, New York and Dubai.