Everything to Know About Qatar's Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia 2026

The National Pavilion of Qatar announced details of its presentation for the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, commissioned by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson, Qatar Museums.

Titled untitled 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people), the exhibition builds on artist Rirkrit Tiravanija's decades-long practice of inviting collaborators to activate his architectural and spatial scenarios. For this edition, Tiravanija has designed a tent-like structure to serve as a place for cultural exchange, featuring a film by Qatari-American artist Sophia Al-Maria, live performances organized by Lebanese artist Tarek Atoui, a large-scale sculpture by Kuwaiti-Puerto Rican artist Alia Farid, and a culinary programme of Middle Eastern cuisine designed by Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan.

Produced by Qatar Museums and presented by Rubaiya Qatar (Qatar's contemporary art quadrennial), the project is co-curated by Tom Eccles (Executive Director, Center for Curatorial Studies and the Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College) and Ruba Katrib (Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, MoMA PS1). It will be presented in the Giardini della Biennale on the site of the future permanent Qatar Pavilion designed by Lina Ghotmeh—Architecture.

Artistic Installations and Activations

The pavilion features several distinct components:

• Film: An experimental narrative film by Qatari-American artist Sophia Al-Maria, in which her protagonist goes on a dream-like journey that delves into the transformative possibilities of music and sound.

• Sculpture: Jerrican (2022–2026), a large-scale sculpture by Alia Farid from her series of larger-than-life vessels used to store and carry water in the Gulf. Farid's versions are enormous but hollow and light, molded in lacquered fiberglass and fabricated using the same method as the decorative casings for public drinking fountains that have become a distinctive feature of the urban landscape across the Arabian Gulf.

• Sound Performances: Improvisational collaborations arranged by Tarek Atoui with musicians and poets, responding to field recordings, archival sources, and other sonic elements from across the Arab world.

• Culinary Program: Designed by Fadi Kattan, highlighting chefs from the MENA region whose cuisine sits at the intersection of preservation and innovation, with menus often centered on a single ingredient to trace the cross-cultural impact of migration and trade.

Opening Programming

Throughout the vernissage (6–8 May) and opening weekend (9–10 May), programming for a gathering of remarkable people will include musical performances arranged by Tarek Atoui that are inspired by the structures of the takht (classical Arabic orchestra) and the wasla (a musical suite or sequence). These improvisational and durational performances will demonstrate how Arabic concerts historically took place. Under Fadi Kattan's direction, chefs from Qatar and the Gulf will reinterpret harees/jareesh.

Featured Artists

Musicians:

• Gobi Drab (flutes, vocals | Austria)
• Tomás Gouband (percussion, France | Algeria)
• Mazen Kerbaj (trumpet, electronics | Lebanon)
• Aya Metwaly (vocals, electronics | Egypt)
• Sarah Ourahman (cello, vocals, electronics | UK/Algeria)
• Naghib Shehbenzadeh (percussion | Iran)
• Vivian Wang (vocals, electronics | Singapore)

Culinary Offerings – Chefs & Authors:

• Noor Murad (Bahrain)
• Majed Ali Almatrooshi (United Arab Emirates)
• Chef Noof Al Marri of the Desert Rose Café at the National Museum of Qatar (Qatar)

Mixologists:

• Anna Patrowicz (France)
• Vesta Kontrimaviciene (Lithuania) of akub London

A full schedule of performances and the culinary program for select dates throughout the run of the 61st International Art Exhibition will be announced in May.