The 2026 edition of the Venice Biennale, scheduled from May 9 to November 22, will explore the theme ‘In Minor Keys,’ a concept envisioned by the late curator Koyo Kouoh from Cameroon. The focus will be on subtle harmonies, connective tones, and the enduring resonance of sound.
Before her unexpected passing earlier this month, Kouoh, who was selected to curate the 61st Biennale, detailed her theme in a curatorial essay. She described the exhibition as a visual and meditative journey encouraging sensory connections across different realms, drawing inspiration from authors like James Baldwin, Patrick Chamoiseau, and Toni Morrison.
“This is an invitation to encounter these words in the immediate physical, meteorological, ambient, and karmic conditions in which they meet you,” Kouoh’s text elaborated. “To shift to a slower gear and tune in to the frequencies of the minor keys.”
This theme will be central to the main exhibition in the Biennale’s central pavilion, extending over public gardens and dockyards, and will form one of the three main segments of the event, alongside national pavilions and collateral exhibitions.
‘In Minor Keys’ will proceed according to Kouoh’s outline with assistance from her family and colleagues, including a panel of advisors like historian Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, curator Marie Helene Pereira, film programmer Rasha Salti, journalist Siddhartha Mitter, and assistant Rory Tsapayi.
Kouoh, formerly the executive director and chief curator at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, had been appointed curator of the Venice Biennale last December, marking the first time an African woman would lead the event in its 130-year history. Kouoh had been diligently preparing the upcoming edition’s framework from mid-October 2024 until early May, with organizers planning to reveal further details, such as the list of participating artists and countries, by late February 2026.
