Venice Biennale Event Biennale

The Venice Biennale, a global meeting point for art and architecture

Founded in 1895, the year of its first International Art Exhibition, the Venice Biennale is one of the oldest and most prestigious cultural institutions in the world. Initially an art exhibition, it expanded in the 1930s to music, cinema, with the Mostra (1932, the first film festival in history), and theatre, then to architecture (1980) and dance (1999). It also maintains a historical archive of contemporary arts, the ASAC.

The two major exhibitions alternate from one year to the next: the International Art Exhibition in even years (2026, 2028…) and the International Architecture Exhibition in odd years (2025, 2027…). Each lasts about six months, from May to November.

Each edition is entrusted to a curator, who chooses a theme and composes the central exhibition; alongside it, each country freely organises its national participation. The 2026 edition thus includes 100 national participations and 31 collateral events. Golden Lions usually reward the best national participation and the best artist in the central exhibition.

Attendance is considerable: around 800,000 visitors for the 2022 art exhibition, which remains the record, 700,000 tickets sold in 2024, and nearly 298,000 for the 2025 architecture exhibition, the most visited in its history according to the Biennale.

Right now: Biennale Arte 2026, until 22 November

The 61st International Art Exhibition, “In Minor Keys”, runs until Sunday 22 November 2026. Conceived by the Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2025, it was realised according to her vision by the team she had assembled. It opened in a tense climate: Russia’s return sparked protests and the international jury resigned on 30 April; the awards were replaced by “Visitors’ Lions”, presented on the closing day (see Biennale Arte 2026).

Plan ahead: the vaporetto serves the Giardini, Giardini Biennale and Arsenale stops. Timetables, ticket options and reservations should be checked on the official website, which publishes them for each edition.

Sources and further information: La Biennale di Venezia; History of the Biennale; Biennale Arte 2026; Biennale Arte 2024 review; Biennale Architettura 2025 review.