Venice, a city synonymous with timeless beauty and intricate waterways, transforms into a pulsating nexus of global contemporary art every two years. The Venice Biennale, a venerable institution with over 129 years of history, is not merely an exhibition; it is a marathon of intellectual engagement, a canvas for geopolitical discourse, and a testament to the enduring power of human creativity. This year’s 61st edition, running from May 9th to November 22nd, has unfolded against a backdrop of profound global unease, amplified by the city’s inherent allure and the art world’s increasingly politicized landscape.
The experience of navigating the Biennale is akin to entering a temporal distortion. Days begin with the disciplined patience of long queues for vaporetti, the iconic water taxis, and extend well past sunset, the weight of cobblestone streets and countless ascents of stone bridges a tangible reminder of the city’s unique topography. While few visitors consciously set out to consume an overwhelming number of exhibitions in a single day, Venice, with its inherent charm and the sheer density of artistic offerings – from national pavilions to a plethora of collateral events and the spirited conversations spilling from canal-side bars – quietly compels such an ambitious undertaking. This creates a unique form of intellectual pressure, a frenetic urgency to absorb the vast spectrum of artistic expression.
Yet, amidst this intensity, Venice possesses an ancient alchemy. The light, aqueous and translucent, washes over faded facades, sharpening the intricate details of Venetian Gothic architecture and marble columns while muting colors into a sophisticated palette. Even the act of rushing through the city becomes a choreographed movement through an enduring landscape of beauty.
Thematic Currents: Echoes of Fracture and Displacement
At the heart of this year’s Biennale beats the posthumously realized vision of Cameroonian-Swiss curator Koyo Kouoh. Her exhibition, In Minor Keys, serves as both a memorial and a profound meditation on fracture, displacement, and collective unease. Kouoh, who passed away at 57 last year at the zenith of her career, curated a show that resonates deeply with the current global climate. Her absence lends an poignant gravitas to the exhibition, underscoring the fragility of life and the enduring impact of loss. In this context, the Biennale feels particularly historic and important, offering a space for reflection and dialogue amidst a world grappling with unprecedented challenges.
British visual artist Rebecca Chesney articulates the unique power of the Venetian setting: "There is no other place like Venice." She highlights a significant shift observed this year: "What really stood out for me was seeing so many women artists being represented, and discovering new ones. The use of materials such as ceramics and textiles was so visible and unexpected." Chesney also recounts a deeply emotional experience: "I cried in Elegy, an exhibition by artist Gabrielle Goliath, which was meant to be the South African pavilion but wasn’t due to disputes over its inclusion of a Palestinian poet." This anecdote points to the complex interplay of artistic expression and political realities that have defined this edition.
The Politicization of the Floating City
The Venice Biennale, with its 129-year history, is a landmark event in the global art calendar, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. However, the 61st edition opened under a pall of grief and geopolitical tension. The preview week was marked by torrential rains and thunderstorms, mirroring the protests and dissent that permeated the atmosphere. The controversy surrounding the participation of Russia and Israel culminated in an unprecedented move: the resignation of the Biennale’s entire prize jury just days before the official opening.
This act of solidarity saw over 80 artists withdraw from awards, and a significant number of pavilions, including those of France, Belgium, Britain, and Italy, closed their doors for a day in protest. Shwetal Patel, a writer and researcher who heads international programs at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, observes, "Artists and audiences alike are demanding greater justice, especially at international events such as these." This sentiment underscores a growing expectation for cultural institutions to engage with and respond to pressing global issues, moving beyond aesthetic appreciation to actively challenge injustice.
The protests, organized by groups like Art Not Genocide Alliance, aimed to highlight the ongoing conflicts and their devastating human cost. Images of activist group Pussy Riot protesting the readmission of Russia to the Biennale served as a stark reminder of the ways in which art and politics are inextricably intertwined, particularly in a global forum like Venice.
Honouring Vision: The Legacy of Koyo Kouoh
The enduring spirit of Koyo Kouoh permeates this year’s Biennale. As the first African woman to curate the central exhibition, her vision was to connect the global through the "spirit and sacredness" of marginalized places and people. This theme, In Minor Keys, has been interpreted by artists through a diverse range of mediums, including earth, ceramics, textiles, and ancestral memory.
In the Arsenale and Giardini, her influence is palpable. Moroccan artist Amina Saoudi Aït Khay’s tapestries, drawing inspiration from her Amazigh heritage and the landscapes of Morocco and Tunisia, offer a vibrant testament to cultural roots. A particularly poignant work is María Magdalena Campos-Pons’s Anatomy of the Magnolia Tree for Koyo Kouoh and Toni Morrison. This centerpiece at the Giardini features eight panels honoring the late American novelist Toni Morrison and Kouoh, two titans of Black female intellectualism, surrounded by resin and glass sculptures of the magnolia, a potent symbol of the American South. The work serves as a powerful tribute, linking artistic legacies and celebrating the contributions of influential Black women.
Masterclasses in the Tangible: A Tactile Renaissance
A striking characteristic of this Biennale is its emphasis on the tactile. Visitors have been drawn to the intricate beadwork paintings by American artist Big Chief Demond Melancon, which illuminate the Black Masking culture of New Orleans. These elaborate, feathered, and beaded creations are profound expressions of community resilience. Equally captivating are the ethereal blue-and-white ikat panels by Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser. Their sonic-textile installation, presented by RMZ Foundation, explores the geological connections between the Indian subcontinent and polar regions, prompting contemplation on the dominant frequencies of our time. The innovative translation of sound into a handwoven cotton-and-ahimsa silk textile by master artisan Gajam Govardhan is a testament to the profound artistry embedded in traditional crafts.
The Moroccan Pavilion, too, offers a masterclass in architectural textiles. Its hand-spun, naturally dyed tapestries, presented as narrow strips of woven, knotted, and stitched artworks, invite viewers to delve into narratives and memories of home, demonstrating the enduring power of craftsmanship.
The Weird and the Unexpected: Provocation and Participation
The Venice Biennale is, by its very nature, a study in sensory extremes. For some, the highlight is the whimsical, participatory nature of the Japan Pavilion. Here, visitors are invited to engage with Grass Babies, Moon Babies, an interactive installation by queer artist Ei Arakawa Nash, who became a parent of twins in 2024. The work stems from the artist’s personal experience of nurturing and rearing, encouraging a collective embrace of care and connection.
Conversely, others endure the notoriously long queues for the Austria Pavilion to witness Florentina Holzinger’s provocative spectacle, Seaworld Venice. This performance blends dance, theatre, and installation, featuring naked women on jet skis and submerged in a water tank replenished by filtered urine. Holzinger’s long-standing research into water, as both subject and symbol, serves as a departure point for an exploration of the human body within a radically changing landscape where nature and technology collide.
The Polish Pavilion offers a different kind of immersive experience. Two towering screens overlook a central stone slab where visitors are invited to lie down. Performers, both hearing and deaf, communicate through a haunting blend of song and sign language in Liquid Tongues. This work provides a moment of enforced stillness amidst the city’s constant motion, a compelling invitation to introspection.
Navigating the Floating City: Practicalities and Perceptions
For those navigating the labyrinthine canals and ancient streets of Venice, strategic planning is key. Staying along the Grand Canal offers iconic views but can mean contending with crowds en route to St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge. For a more direct experience of the main exhibition areas, proximity to the Castello district is advisable to minimize reliance on water taxis. A practical tip for avoiding lengthy queues during peak hours is to seek entry via rear access points whenever possible.
The sheer scale of the Venice Biennale is staggering. With over 100 artists featured in group exhibitions alone at the Giardini and Arsenale, and thousands more participating in collateral events scattered across the city, there is an undeniable sense of genuine discovery. Even when lost in the maze-like city, the promise of authentic homemade pasta, freshly ground coffee, and artisanal gelato offers a comforting anchor.
A Homecoming for India: Rekindling a Legacy
A significant highlight of this year’s Biennale is the triumphant return of the India Pavilion after a seven-year hiatus. Supported by the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre and Serendipity Arts, the exhibition, titled Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home, is curated by Amin Jaffer. Located at the far end of the Arsenale, the pavilion acts as a sensory threshold. The entrance, through heavy black curtains into a dimly lit space, immediately slows the eye, demanding a confrontation with material, scale, and the play of shadows.
At the pavilion’s core stands Asim Waqif’s colossal bamboo installation. Rising with an overwhelming force towards the rafters, it evokes the ubiquitous scaffolding of Indian urban landscapes. Waqif explains, "You have hip design studios doing things with bamboo and selling it for huge amounts, but it doesn’t trickle down to the artisans. The challenge is to transform what’s left of our connection to pre-industrial technologies into a contemporary context without losing the people behind them." This work invites touch and sound; visitors are encouraged to drum against the stalks, inhaling the earthy fragrance of the wood. The sound of the bamboo elicits a collective appreciation among artist friends, a feeling both monumental and vulnerable, despite the occasional intrusion of visible plastic ties that momentarily disrupt its organic aesthetic.
To the right, Sumakshi Singh’s "ghostly" thread-work installations offer a spectral evocation of memory. She has meticulously crafted a trompe-l’œil replica of her ancestral home, capturing every detail from decorative flourishes to the minutiae of hinges and bolts. Singh describes her work, Permanent Address, as existing in "a tension between shelter and exposure, presence and disappearance." The pavilion has allowed her to realize her work at a truly monumental scale, transforming it into a meditation on what persists within us even as the external world dissolves. Navigating her thread-drawn doorways, experiencing the interplay of shadow and memory, is a profound encounter.
Ranjani Shettar’s resin-coated flowers and seed pods hang in a state of suspended animation, hovering between growth and decay. These contrast with Alwar Balasubramaniam’s cracked earthworks, which elevate the very ground beneath our feet into high art. While Skarma Sonam Tashi’s papier-mâché houses, Echoes of Home, on the upper level feel somewhat disconnected from the main floor’s dialogue, the viewing platform offers a panoramic scan of a pavilion that, for the most part, coheres into a breathing, unified entity.
Other Notable Presences
Beyond the India Pavilion, other significant artistic contributions warrant attention. Nalini Malani’s Of Woman Born, presented by KNMA and curated by Roobina Karode, commands a dark and deliberately disturbing presence within a cavernous, brick-walled salt warehouse. This large-scale work, comprising 67 animations created from 30,000 iPad drawings across nine projections, offers an undeniable statement on the position of women amidst wars and violence. In the main exhibition at the Giardini, Sohrab Hura’s Timelines presents a sprawling series of candid snapshots of ordinary lives, unfolded across a series of cardboard boxes, offering an intimate glimpse into everyday existence.
At the historic Marinaressa Gardens, Paresh Maity’s abstract cuboid sculpture, Equilibrium, envisions the universe as a meticulously balanced system, drawing upon traditional Indian spatial philosophy. Photographer Dayanita Singh’s exhibition, Archivio, at the Archivio di Stato di Venezia, pays tribute to Italian archives she has documented over the past decade, alongside her own evolving archive of images made in Italy over the last 25 years.
South Asian Resonance
The presence of South Asian artists extends beyond the India Pavilion. British sculptor Anish Kapoor’s exhibition at Palazzo Manfrin showcases approximately 100 architectural models of both realized and unrealized projects. In a poignant collateral event, Bangladeshi visual artist Ashfika Rahman’s installation Than Para – No Land Without Us, presented as part of the Pinchuk Art Centre’s group exhibition Still Joy at the Ukraine Pavilion, is a must-see. Composed of nearly 5,000 temple bells, each bearing the collected thumbprints of displaced people from the Chittagong Hill Tract regions, the work transforms individual traces into a moving testament of presence, memory, belonging, and the enduring claim to land and identity. London-based artist Faiza Butt channels Punjab’s rich textile and craft traditions into bold, experimental forms at the Pakistan Pavilion.
Making the Pilgrimage: An Unparalleled Intensity
The Venice Biennale remains an experience of unparalleled intensity. It is the singular locus where the global zeitgeist is distilled into a few square miles of lagoon-soaked land. Through the visionary curatorship of Koyo Kouoh and the evocative return of pavilions such as India’s, the 61st edition serves as a powerful reminder that art’s greatest strength lies in its capacity to reconnect us with our own sense of being in the world, prompting reflection, challenging perceptions, and fostering a deeper understanding of our shared humanity.
