The Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition named 111 participating artists, duos, and collectives for late Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh’s posthumous show In Minor Keys today, February 25.
In a livestreamed presentation, Kouoh’s team and biennale staff revealed the names of artists selected for the prestigious international exhibition, which opens on May 9. This year’s edition will include works by artists from the United States, Palestine, Australia, Peru, South Africa, Zambia, and elsewhere.
Notably, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement awards will not be given this year because Kouoh was unable to make selections before her death.
Among the most recognizable names is Lebanese-born artist Khaled Sabsabi, whose concurrent participation as Australia’s official pavilion artist gained global attention last year when the country rescinded his selection following scrutiny of his artwork, but later reversed its decision.
Other artists and collectives include Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu, American filmmaker Cauleen Smith, Colombian-British artist Carolina Caycedo, Algerian-French artist Kadet Attia, Palestinian painter Mohammed Joha, Shipibo-Conibo Peruvian artist Celia Vásquez Yui, and Salvadoran artist Guadalupe Maravilla. A full list of selected artists is appended to this article.
Kouoh, who died last May at age 57 following a cancer diagnosis, would have been the first African woman to serve as the biennale’s artistic director. After her passing, the Venice Biennale said it would continue developing In Minor Keys with guidance from a team she selected, comprising Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira, and Rasha Salti as advisors; Siddhartha Mitter as catalogue editor-in-chief; and Rory Tsapayi as research assistant.
“The 61st edition of the Biennale Arte is grounded in a deep belief in artists as the vital interpreters of the social and psychic condition and catalyst of new relations and possibilities,” Feijoo said at today’s presentation.
Kouoh made extensive progress on the exhibition, including its title and concept of In Minor Keys, catalogue, and selection of artists and artworks, before her death last May.
“The minor keys refuse the orchestral bombast and goose-step military marches and come alive in the quiet tones, the lower frequencies, the hums, the consolations of poetry, all portals of improvisation to the elsewhere and the otherwise,” Salti said in today’s announcement. “The minor keys ask for listening that calls on the emotions and sustains them in return.”
Artists Participating in the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia:
Pio Abad
Born 1983, Manila, Philippines. Lives in London, UK.
Philip Aguirre y Otegui
Born 1961, Schoten, Belgium. Lives in Antwerp, Belgium.
Akinbode Akinbiyi
Born 1946, Oxford, UK. Lives in Berlin, Germany.
Laurie Anderson
Born 1947, Chicago, IL, USA. Lives in New York City, NY, USA.
Fabrice Aragno
Born 1970, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Lives in Lausanne, Switzerland.
arms ache avid aeon:
(Nancy Brooks Brody, born 1962, New York City, NY, USA, D. 2023, Joy Episalla, born 1957, Bronxville, NY, USA, lives in New York City, NY, USA, Zoe Leonard, born 1961 Liberty, NY, USA, lives in New York City, NY, USA, Carrie Yamaoka, born 1957, Glen Cove, NY, USA, lives in New York City, NY, USA, fierce pussy, founded 1991, New York City, NY, USA, Jo-ey Tang, born 1978, Hong Kong, China. Lives in New York City, NY, USA.)
Kader Attia
Born, 1970, Dugny, France. Lives in Berlin, Germany and Paris, France.
Sammy Baloji
Born 1978, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lives in Brussels, Belgium and Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ranti Bam
Born 1985, Lagos, Nigeria. Lives in Paris, France and Lagos, Nigeria.
Alvaro Barrington
Born 1983, Caracas, Venezuela. Lives in London, UK.
Éric Baudelaire
Born 1973, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Lives in Paris, France.
Sabian Baumann
Born 1962, Zug, Switzerland. Lives in Zurich, Switzerland.
blaxTARLINES KUMASI
Founded 2015, Kumasi, Ghana.
Beverly Buchanan
Born 1940, Fuquay, NC, USA. D. 2015.
Seyni Awa Camara
Born 1945, Oussouy, Senegal. D. 2026.
Nick Cave
Born 1959, Chicago, IL, USA. Lives in Chicago, IL, USA.
Carolina Caycedo
Colombian, born 1978, London, UK. Lives in Los Angeles, CA, USA and Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Annalee Davis
Born 1963, St. Michael, Barbados. Lives in St. George, Barbados.
BuBu de la Madeleine
Born 1961, Osaka, Japan. Lives in Nara, Japan.
Dawn DeDeaux
Born 1952, New Orleans, LA, USA. Lives in New Orleans, LA, USA.
Nolan Oswald Dennis
Born 1988, Lusaka, Zambia. Lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Denniston Hill
Founded 2008, Glen Wild, NY, USA.
Bonnie Devine
Born 1952, Toronto, Canada. Lives in Toronto, Canada.
Godfried Donkor
Born 1964, Accra, Ghana. Lives in London, UK and Accra, Ghana.
Marcel Duchamp
Born 1887, Blainville-Crevon, France. D. 1968.
Edouard Duval-Carrié
Born 1954, Port-au-Prince, Haïtï. Lives in Miami, FL, USA.
Torkwase Dyson
Born 1973, Chicago, IL, USA. Lives in Beacon, NY, USA.
rana elnemr
Born 1974, Hannover, Germany. Lives in Cairo, Egypt.
Theo Eshetu
Born 1958, London, UK. Lives in Berlin, Germany and Rome, Italy.
Rachel Fallon (with Alice Maher)
Born 1971, Dublin, Ireland. Lives in Dublin, Ireland.
G.A.S. Foundation
Founded 2023, Lagos and Ijebu Ode, Nigeria.
Sofía Gallisá Muriente
Born 1986, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Lives in Puerto Rico.
Adebunmi Gbadebo
Born 1992, Livingston, NJ, USA. Lives in Philadelphia, PA and Newark, NJ, USA.
Leonilda González
Born 1923, Minuano, Uruguay. D. 2017.
Linda Goode Bryant
Born 1949, Columbus, OH, USA. Lives in New York City, NY, USA.
Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige
Born 1969, Beirut, Lebanon. Lives in Beirut, Lebanon and Paris, France.
Born 1969, Moussaitbeh, Lebanon. Lives in Beirut, Lebanon and Paris, France.
Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka
Born 1988, Toronto, Canada. Lives in Toronto, Canada; New York City, NY, USA; and Japan.
Ayrson Heráclito
Born 1968, Macaúbas, Bahia, Brazil. Lives in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Clarissa Herbst & Dominique Rust
Born 1959, Crailsheim, Germany. Lives in Zurich, Switzerland.
Born 1960, Basel, Switzerland. Lives in Zurich, Switzerland.
Nicholas Hlobo
Born 1975, Cape Town, South Africa. Lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Carsten Höller
Born 1961, Brussels, Belgium. Lives in Stockholm, Sweden; Biriwa, Ghana; and Tuscany, Italy.
Sohrab Hura
Born 1981, Chinsurah, India. Lives in New Delhi, India.
Alfredo Jaar
Born 1965, Santiago, Chile. Lives in Lisbon, Portugal.
Mohammed Joha
Born 1978, Gaza, Palestine. Lives in Marseille, France.
Michael Joo
Born 1966, Ithaca, NY, USA. Lives in New York City, NY, USA.
Nina Katchadourian
Born 1968, Stanford, CA, USA. Lives in New York City, NY, USA and Berlin, Germany.
Bodys Isek Kingelez
Born 1948, Kimbembele Ihunga, former Belgian Congo, now Democratic Republic of the Congo. D. 2015.
Sandra Knecht
Born 1968, Buus, Switzerland. Lives in Buus, Switzerland.
Marcia Kure
Born 1970, Kano State, Nigeria. Lives in Princeton, NJ, USA; Abuja, and Kaduna, Nigeria.
Natalia Lassalle-Morillo (in collaboration with Gloria Morillo)
Born 1991, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Florence Lazar
Born 1966, Paris, France. Lives in Paris, France.
Dan Lie
Born 1988. Lives in Berlin, Germany.
Werewere Liking
Born 1950, Mgombas, Cameroon. Lives in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
lugar a dudas
Founded 2004, Cali, Colombia.
Daniel Lind-Ramos
Born 1953, Loiza, Puerto Rico. Lives in Loiza, Puerto Rico.
Alice Maher
Born 1956, Tipperary, Ireland. Lives in County Mayo, Ireland.
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons & Kamaal Malak
Born 1959, Matanzas, Cuba Lives in Nashville, TN, USA.
Born 1962, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Lives in Nashville, TN, USA.
Senzeni Marasela
Born 1977, Thokoza, South Africa. Lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Guadalupe Maravilla
Born 1976, San Salvador, El Salvador. Lives in New York City, NY, USA.
Manuel Mathieu
Born 1986, Port-au-Prince, Haïtï. Lives in Montreal, Canada and Paris, France.
Georgina Maxim
Born 1980, Harare, Zimbabwe. Lives in Harare and Mutare, Zimbabwe.
Tiona Nekkia McClodden
Born 1981, Blytheville, AR, USA. Lives in Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Big Chief Demond Melancon
Born 1978, New Orleans, LA, USA. Lives in New Orleans, LA, USA.
Avi Mograbi
Born 1956, Tel Aviv. Lives in Lisbon, Portugal.
Wangechi Mutu
Born 1972, Nairobi, Kenya. Lives in New York City, NY, USA and Nairobi, Kenya.
Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI)
Founded 2020, Nairobi, Kenya.
Eustaquio Neves
Born 1955, Juatuba, Brazil. Lives in Diamantina, Brazil.
Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn
Born 1976, Sài Gòn, Việt Nam. Lives in Hội An, works in Hồ Chí Minh City, Việt Nam.
Tammy Nguyen
Born 1984, San Francisco, CA, USA. Lives in Easton, CT, USA.
Otobong Nkanga
Born 1974, Kano, Nigeria. Lives in Antwerp, Belgium, and Uyo, Nigeria.
Kaloki Nyama
Born 1985, Nairobi, Kenya. Lives in Nairobi, Kenya.
Temitayo Ogunbiyi
Born 1984, Rochester, NY, USA. Lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
Pauline Oliveros
Born 1932, Houston, TX, USA. D. 2016.
Kambui Olujimi
Born 1976, Brooklyn, New York City, NY, USA. Lives in New York City, NY, USA.
Hagar Ophir
Born 1983, Jerusalem. Lives in Berlin, Germany.
Uriel Orlow
Born 1973, Zurich, Switzerland. Lives in Lisbon, Portugal; London, UK; and Basel, Switzerland.
Ebony G. Patterson
Born 1981, Kingston, Jamaica. Lives in Kingston, Jamaica and Chicago, IL, USA.
Rajni Perera & Marigold Santos
Born 1985, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Lives in Toronto, Canada.
Born 1981, Manila, Phillipines. Lives in Calgary, Canada.
Thania Petersen
Born 1980, Cape Town, South Africa. Lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
Alan Phelan
Born 1968, Dublin, Ireland. Lives in Dublin, Ireland.
Johannes Phokela
Born 1966, Johannesburg, South Africa. Lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Léonard Pongo
Born 1988, Liège, Belgium. Lives in Brussels, Belgium and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Walid Raad
Born 1967, Chbanieh, Lebanon. Lives in Medusa, NY, USA.
Mohammed Z. Rahman
Born 1997, London, UK. Lives in London, UK.
RAW Material Company
Founded 2008, Dakar, Senegal.
Tabita Rezaire
Born 1989, Paris, France, 1989. Lives in Cayenne, French Guiana.
Guadalupe Rosales
Born 1980, Redwood City, CA, USA. Lives in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Yo-E Ryou
Born 1987, Seoul, South Korea. Lives in Seoul and Jeju Island, South Korea.
Khaled Sabsabi
Born 1965, Tripoli, Lebanon. Lives in Sydney, Australia.
Rose Salane
Born 1992, New York City, NY, USA. Lives in New York City, NY, USA.
Issa Samb
Born 1945, Dakar, Senegal. D. 2017.
Amina Saoudi Aït Khay
Born 1955, Casablanca, Morocco. Lives in Sousse, Tunisia.
Carrie Schneider
Born 1979, Chicago, IL, USA. Lives in New York City, NY, USA.
Hala Schoukair
Born 1957, Beirut, Lebanon. Lives in Beirut, Lebanon.
Berni Searle
Born 1964, Cape Town, South Africa. Lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mmakgabo Mmapula Helen Sebidi=
Born 1943, Marapyane, South Africa. Lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Wardha Shabbir
Born 1987, Lahore, Pakistan. Lives in Lahore, Pakistan.
Yoshiko Shimada
Born 1959, Tokyo, Japan. Lives in Chiba, Japan.
Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser
Born 1987, New Delhi, India. Lives in London, UK and New Delhi, India.
Born 1985, Bonn, Germany. Lives in London, UK and New Delhi, India.
Buhlebezwe Siwani
Born 1987, Johannesburg, South Africa. Lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Cape Town, South Africa.
Cauleen Smith
Born 1967, Riverside, CA, USA. Lives in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Vera Tamari
Born 1944, Jerusalem, Palestine. 1944. Lives in Ramallah, Palestine.
Tsai Ming-liang
Born 1957, Kuching, Malaysia. Lives in New Taipei City and Taipei, Taiwan.
Victoria-Idongesit Udondian
Born 1982, Uyo, Nigeria. Lives in Lagos, Nigeria and New York City, NY, USA.
Celia Vásquez Yui
Born 1960, Pucallpa, Peru. Lives in the Peruvian Amazon, Pucallpa, Peru.
Kemang Wa Lehulere
Born 1984, Cape Town, South Africa. Lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
Kennedy Yanko
Born 1988, St. Louis, MO, USA. Lives in Miami, FL, USA.
Raed Yassin
Born 1979, Beirut, Lebanon. Lives in Beirut, Lebanon and Berlin, Germany.
Sawangwongse Yawnghwe
Born 1971, Shan State Burma. Lives in Zutphen, Netherlands and Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Billie Zangewa
Born 1973, Blantyre, Malawi. Lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Applied Arts Pavilion — A Special Project of La Biennale di Venezia and Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Gala Porras-Kim
Born 1984, Bogotá, Colombia. Lives in Los Angeles, CA, USA and London, UK.
