Every two years, Venice hosts the Art Biennale (art alternates with architecture)—a showcase of exhibitions from various countries as well as individual artists’ presentations. The latest 61st edition, titled In Minor Keys, includes entries from 110 participants—countries, organizations, art collectives, or individuals.

The Biennale’s curator, Koyo Kouoh, passed away in 2025, but the show remains true to her vision and choices of artists, thanks to which there are many presentations from Africa, Australia, Asia, and Black and ethnic communities all over the world. In fact, it is very refreshing to be confronted with numerous entries from the non-Western world that approach traditional mediums like painting or sculpture from completely different angles. For example, there is a display of very visceral and passionate large landscapes in neon colors from Bonnie Devine, a First Nation artist from Canada. Her paintings examine lands around the Serpent River, where the soil has been impacted by uranium mining and the river is radioactive. Both the quality of painting and the message these works imply are much more powerful than most of the other works displayed.

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