The Directorate-General for Arts (DGArtes) has announced that the winning project for participation in the Venice Biennale will be selected by November 10, with a budget allocation of 425,000 euros.
Among the proposals, Alexandre Estrela presents ‘RedSkyFalls’, a work from 2019. Pedro Barateiro’s project is titled ‘Truvadores’, while Mikhail Karikis offers ‘Universo de Soluções’, a project originally conceived for UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in Braga.
“The selected proposals engage with the Venice Biennale’s theme, ‘In Minor Keys’, introduced by the general curator Koyo Kouoh, not as a literal framework but through their potential to echo and expand the exhibition’s theme,” the DGArtes statement elaborated.
The committee responsible for evaluating the submissions includes Andreia Magalhães, Joaquim Moreno, José Bragança de Miranda, and Nuno Faria. This same group will ultimately decide the winner.
The call for expressions of interest opened in late July and accepted submissions until August 28.
Last year, the Ministry of Culture, under the leadership of Dalila Rodrigues, announced a transition to an open submission model for representing Portugal at the Venice Biennale, effective from 2025, moving away from the previous invitation-only process.
Apart from revising the selection model to encourage broader participation, the ministry also declared a change in the location of the Portugal Pavilion from the Palazzo Franchetti on the Grand Canal in Venice, following the expiration of the lease, to the Fondaco Marcello near the Grand Canal.
The upcoming Venice Art Biennale, under the theme ‘In Minor Keys’, crafted by curator Koyo Kouoh who passed away in May, aims to project a transformative view of art through a “poetic whisper” of resistance, introspection, and joy amidst global exhaustion, according to the organizers in Italy.
This exhibition is scheduled from May 9 to November 22, 2026, with pre-opening events on May 7 and 8 in the Gardens, the Arsenal, and other venues throughout central Venice.
