Venice Biennale 2026: must-see exhibitions across the city

Venice and Biennale 2026: an overview of key exhibitions

Beyond the official pavilions, Venice hosts a wide range of exhibitions showcasing photography, painting, multimedia works and site‑specific projects. Below is a curated selection to help plan targeted visits across the city.

Main exhibitions

• HORST P. HORST. The Geometry of Grace — Le Stanze della Fotografia (21/02/2026 – 05/07/2026). An extensive retrospective presenting seven decades of portrait and fashion photography through vintage prints and archival materials that highlight the artist's formal precision.

• JENNY SAVILLE — Ca' Pesaro, Galleria d'Arte Moderna (28/03/2026 – 22/11/2026). The artist's first major show in Venice, featuring large‑scale paintings that revisit the body and engage with Venetian pictorial traditions.

• REPATRIATES COLLECTIVE. Tide of Returns — Ocean Space / TBA21–Academy (28/03/2026 – 11/10/2026). Site‑specific works addressing the restitution of cultural property, accompanied by research projects on the legal recognition of natural and cultural rights.

• MICHAEL ARMITAGE. The Promise of Change — Palazzo Grassi (29/03/2026 – 10/01/2027). A large exhibition of paintings on bark cloth and other supports that mix personal memory, history and contemporary political themes.

• AMAR KANWAR. Co‑travellers — Palazzo Grassi (29/03/2026 – 10/01/2027). Two major multimedia installations spanning two decades, blending documentary elements with poetic narrative to explore power, violence and resistance.

• PAULO NAZARETH. Algebra — Punta della Dogana (29/03/2026 – 22/11/2026). A personal survey combining installations, photographs and texts that reflect on colonial fractures, migration and diasporic memory.

• LORNA SIMPSON. Third Person — Punta della Dogana, Pinault Collection (29/03/2026 – 22/11/2026). The first major European show of Simpson's painterly practice, gathering paintings, collages and installations that question image construction and memory.

• STILL JOY – From Ukraine into the World — Palazzo Contarini Polignac (06/04/2026 – 01/08/2026). A collection of works by Ukrainian and international artists that frame joy as a radical expression of humanity in times of conflict.

Practical tips

Getting around: exhibitions are often clustered in central areas such as Dorsoduro and San Marco; allow time for vaporetto journeys and prebook tickets for in‑demand venues.

What to prioritise: with limited time, combine a major institutional show (Palazzo Grassi or Punta della Dogana), a monographic museum exhibition and a site‑specific project to sample diverse practices.

Tours and resources: many institutions run guided tours and publish visitor resources—check each venue's official channels for schedules, booking information and related events.