Shapes of Silence: Ethiopia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2026 by Tegene Kunbi

Shapes of Silence: Ethiopia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2026

Shapes of Silence is a solo exhibition by Ethiopian artist Tegene Kunbi, hosted at Palazzo Bollani in Castello as part of the 61st International Art Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia. Open to the public from 9 May to 22 November 2026, the project examines silence as a layered social, cultural and political condition.

About the exhibition

Kunbi's new body of work weaves abstract painting with textiles and assemblage. Canvases act as material archives where handcrafted fabrics meet industrial textiles and sacred garments, creating surfaces that hold memories, tensions and narratives of identity and power.

Themes and interpretation

The exhibition focuses on the ambivalent role of silence in Ethiopian culture — praised as a virtue yet also a possible source of exclusion. By foregrounding material contrasts, the artist exposes unequal distribution of voice across lines of gender, geography and sacredness, making silence visible as a political condition.

Exhibitional approach and visitor experience

Rather than supplying immediate explanations, the works invite slow looking. Painting is conceived as a platform where regimes of interpretation are questioned and the physical presence of materials regains prominence, allowing meaning to emerge through sustained proximity and attention.

Practical information

• When: 9 May — 22 November 2026
• Where: Palazzo Bollani, Castello 3647, Venice
• Artist: Tegene Kunbi (born Addis Ababa, 1980)
• Curator: Abebaw Ayalew
• Organizers: Ethiopian Ministry of Tourism and the Embassy of Ethiopia in Italy; supported by Primo Marella Gallery
• Pavilion commissioners: Ambassador Demitu Hambisa Bonsa; assistant curator Yohannes Mulat Mekonnen

Presented within the Ethiopia Pavilion titled In Minor Keys, this is the country’s second participation at the Venice Biennale. The show is recommended for visitors interested in contemporary practices that use material culture and textile languages to address memory, negotiation and political voice.