National pavilions at the Venice Biennale


The national pavilions host each participant nation's official representation during the Venice Biennale, an international art biennial exhibition held in Venice, Italy. Some countries own pavilion buildings in the Giardini della Biennale while others rent buildings throughout the city, but each country controls its own selection process and production costs.

Background

The Venice Biennale is an international art biennial exhibition held in Venice, Italy. Often described as "the Olympics of the art world", participation in the Biennale is a prestigious event for contemporary artists. The festival has become a constellation of shows: a central exhibition curated by that year's artistic director, national pavilions hosted by individual nations, and independent exhibitions throughout Venice. The Biennale parent organization also hosts regular festivals in other arts: architecture, dance, film, music, and theater.
Outside of the central, international exhibition, individual nations produce their own shows, known as pavilions, as their national representation. Nations that own their pavilion buildings, such as the 30 housed on the Giardini, are responsible for their own upkeep and construction costs as well. Nations without dedicated buildings create pavilions in venues throughout the city.

Giardini national pavilions

NationLocationFirst exhibitionYear of construction
AustriaGiardini1934
AustraliaGiardini 2015
BelgiumGiardini1907
BrazilGiardini1964
CanadaGiardini1957
Central PavilionGiardini1895
Czech Republic and SlovakiaGiardini1926
DenmarkGiardini1932
EgyptGiardini1932
FinlandGiardini1956
FranceGiardini1912
GermanyGiardini 1938
Great BritainGiardini1909
GreeceGiardini1934
HungaryGiardini1909
IsraelGiardini1952
JapanGiardini1956
the NetherlandsGiardini 1953
Nordic countries Giardini1962
PolandGiardini1932
RomaniaGiardini1932
RussiaGiardini1914
SerbiaGiardini1932–38
South KoreaGiardini1995
SpainGiardini1922
SwitzerlandGiardini1952
United StatesGiardini1930
UruguayGiardini1962
VenezuelaGiardini1956
VeniceGiardini1932

Israel

Israeli artists first participated as the Erez Israel, Artisti Palestinesi pavilion in 1948, sponsored by wealthy Italian Jews. The country opened its official pavilion in 1950. The current pavilion was designed by Ze'ev Rechter and opened in 1952 The list of exhibitors in the Israeli Pavilion:

Japan

List of exhibitors in the Japanese Pavilion:

Qatar

In 2024, the Venice Biennale announced a proposal for a Qatar pavilion in the Giardini as part of a deal between the city of Venice and the Qatar Museums, which will manage the pavilion. Following an international competition, an advisory panel chaired by Rem Koolhaas selected Lina Ghotmeh as the architect to create the permanent pavilion in 2025.

United States

The American pavilion was privately owned and the 9th to be built in the Giardini. Today it is owned by the Guggenheim foundation.

Pavilions outside Giardini

Albania

List of exhibitors in the Albanian Pavilion:

Andorra

List of exhibitors in the Albanian Pavilion:

Argentina

In 1901, Argentina was the first Latin American nation to participate in the Biennale. In 2011, it was granted a pavilion in the Sale d'Armi, which it will restore.
List of exhibitors in the Argentine Pavilion:

Bahrain

Benin

List of exhibitors in the Beninese Pavilion:

Bosnia and Herzegovina

List of exhibitors in the Bosnian Pavilion:
  • 2003 — Maja Bajevic, Jusuf Hadžifejzovic, Edin Numankadic, Nebojša Šeric-Šoba
  • 2013 — Mlаden Miljаnović
  • 2017 — Radenko Milak
  • 2019 — Danica Dakić

Central Asia

The first Central Asian Pavilion was an initiative of Victor Miziano in 2005. The second pavilion was organized by Yulia Sorokina and the third by Beral Madra. Each of these was different in format and approach. The first one – Art from Central Asia. A Contemporary Archive – aimed at placing Central Asia on the 'map' of international art. Along the works of invited artists, there were many video compilations of films, performance and happenings presented by Central Asian artists from the end of the 1990s and beginning of 2000.
List of exhibitors in the Central Asia Pavilion:
  • 2005 — Said Atabekov, Vyacheslav Akhunov & Sergey Tychina, Maksim Boronilov & Roman Maskalev, Elena Vorobyeva & Viktor Vorobyev, Kasmalieva & Djumaliev, Sergey Maslov, Almagul Menlibaeva, Erbossyn Meldibekov, Alexander Nikolaev, Rustam Khalfin & Yulia Tikhonova
  • 2007 — Roman Maskalev, Almagul Menlibaeva & German Popov, Gulnur Mukazhanova, Alexander Nikolaev, Aleksey Rumyantsev, Alexander Ugay, Asia Animation, Said Atabekov, Vyacheslav Akhunov, Alla Girik & Oksana Shatalova, Digsys, Natalia Dyu, Zadarnovsky Brothers, Gaukhar Kiyekbayeva, Vyacheslav Useinov, Jamol Usmanov, Aytegin Muratbek Uulu, Jamshed Kholikov, ZITABL
  • 2009 — Ermek Jaenish, Jamshed Kholikov, Anzor Salidjanov, Oksana Shatalova, Elena Vorobyeva & Viktor Vorobyev
  • 2011 — Natalia Andrianova, Said Atabekov, Artyom Ernst, Galim Madanov and Zauresh Terekbay, Yerbossyn Meldibekov, Alexander Nikolaev, Marat Raiymkulov, Aleksey Rumyantsev and Alla Rumyantseva, Adis Seitaliev

Chile

List of exhibitors in the Chilean Pavilion:
  • 2009 — Iván Navarro
  • 2011 — Fernando Prats
  • 2013 — Alfredo Jaar
  • 2015 — Paz Errázuriz, Lotty Rosenfeld
  • 2017 — Bernardo Oyarzún
  • 2024 – Valeria Montti

Croatia

List of exhibitors in the Croatian Pavilion:
  • 1993 — Milivoj Bijelić, Ivo Deković, and Željko Kipke
  • 1995 — Martina Kramer, Goran Petercol, Mirko Zrinščak, Ivan Faktor, Nina Ivančić, Damir Sokić, Mladen Stilinović, Dean Jokanović Toumin, Goran Trbuljak, Gorki Žanić
  • 1997 — Dalibor Martinis
  • 1999 — Zlatan Vrkljan
  • 2001 — Julije Knifer
  • 2003 — Boris Cvjetanović and Ana Opalić
  • 2007 — Ivana Franke
  • 2011 — Saša Begović, Marko Dabrović, Igor Franić, Tanja Grozdanić, Petar Mišković, Silvije Novak, Veljko Oluić, Helena Paver Njirić, Lea Pelivan, Toma Plejić, Goran Rako, Saša Randić, Turato Idis, Pero Vuković e Tonči Žarnić
  • 2013 — Kata Mijatović
  • 2015 — Damir Očko
  • 2017 — Tina Gverović, Marko Tadić
  • 2019 — Igor Grubić

Cyprus

  • 2026 — Marina Xenofontos

Estonia

The expositions at the Estonian pavilion are regularly commissioned by the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art.
List of exhibitors in the Estonian pavilion:

Gabon

Gabon first participated in the Venice Biennale in 2009.
List of exhibitors in the Gabonese Pavilion:

Georgia

List of exhibitors in the Georgian Pavilion:
  • 2009 — Koka Ramishvili
  • 2013 — Bouillon Group, Thea Djordjadze, Nikoloz Lutidze, Gela Patashuri with Ei Arakawa and Sergei Tcherepnin, Gio Sumbadze
  • 2015 — Rusudan Khizanishvili, Irakli Bluishvili, Dimitri Chikvaidze, Joseph Sabia, Ia Liparteliani, Nia Mgaloblishvili, Sophio Shevardnadze
  • 2017 — Vajiko Chachkhiani
  • 2019 — Anna K.E.

Ghana

In 2019, Ghana will officially participate in the Venice Biennale for the first time.
List of exhibitors in the Ghanaian Pavilion:

Grenada

In 2017, Grenada participated in the Venice Biennale at an exclusive space in Zattere, Dorsoduro, all allocated for the exhibition entitled The Bridge, where international artists from nations with sea outlets explored the collective idea of "own identity".
  • 2017 — Alexandre Murucci, Khaled Hafez, Jason de Caires Taylor, Asher Mains, Milton Williams, Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Zena Assi, and Mahmoud Obaidi

Hong Kong

List of exhibitors in the Hong Kong Pavilion:

Holy See

Iceland

In 1984, as Finland had joined Norway and Sweden in the Nordic Pavilion, Iceland was given the opportunity to rent the Finnish pavilion until 2006. The Icelandic Art Center commissions the Icelandic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
List of exhibitors in the Icelandish Pavilion:

India

In 2011, India was represented for the first time after 116 years, with the support of the culture ministry and the organizational participation of the Lalit Kala Akademi. Biennale organizers had reportedly invited the country in past years, but the government had declined, a decision attributed to a lack of communication between the culture ministry and the country's National Gallery of Modern Art.

Indonesia

List of exhibitors in the Indonesian Pavilion:

Iran

Iraq

In 2011, Iraq returned to the Biennale for the first time after a 35-year absence. The title of the Iraq Pavilion was "Acqua Ferita". Six Iraqi artists from two generations interpreted the theme of water in their works, which made up the exhibition.
List of exhibitors in the Iraqi Pavilion:
  • 1976 — Saadi Al Kaabi, Dia al-Azzawi
  • 2011 — Adel Abidin, Halim Al Karim, Ahmed Alsoudani, Ali Assaf, Azad Nanakeli, Walid Siti.
  • 2013 — 'Welcome to Iraq', curated by Jonathan Watkins, commissioned by Ruya Foundation. Artists: Abdul Raheem Yassir, Akeel Khreef, Ali Samiaa, Bassim Al-Shaker, Cheeman Ismaeel, Furat al Jamil, Hareth Alhomaam, Jamal Penjweny, Kadhim Nwir, Yaseen Wami, Hashim Taeeh.
  • 2015 — 'Invisible Beauty', curated by Philippe Van Cauteren, commissioned by Ruya Foundation. Artists: Latif Al Ani, Akam Shex Hadi, Rabab Ghazoul, Salam Atta Sabri and Haider Jabbar.
  • 2017 — 'Archaic', curated by Tamara Chalabi and Paolo Colombo, commissioned by Ruya Foundation. Artists: Sherko Abbas, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, Francis Alÿs, Ali Arkady, Luary Fadhil, Shakir Hassan Al Said, Nadine Hattom, Jawad Saleem, Sakar Sleman
  • 2019 — 'Fatherland: Serwan Baran', curated by Tamara Chalabi and Paolo Colombo, commissioned by Ruya Foundation. Artist: Serwan Baran.

Ireland

List of exhibitors in the Irish Pavilion:

Italy

"Palazzo Pro Arte": Enrico Trevisanato, façade by Marius De Maria and Bartholomeo Bezzi, 1895; new façade by Guido Cirilli, 1914; "Padiglione Italia", present façade by Duilio Torres, 1932. The pavilion has a sculpture garden by Carlo Scarpa, 1952 and the "Auditorium Pastor" by Valeriano Pastor, 1977.
Partial list of exhibitors at the Italian Pavilion:

Republic of Kazakhstan

List of exhibitors and curators in the Kazakhstan Pavilion:
  • 2022 — ORTA Collective: Alexandra Morozova, Rustem Begenov, Darya Jumelya, Alexandr Bakanov, Sabina Kuangaliyeva.

Republic of Kosovo

List of exhibitors in the Kosovo Pavilion:

Kuwait

List of exhibitors in the Kuwait Pavilion:

Lebanon

Lebanon was present at the Biennale for the first time in 2007.
After being absent in 2009 and 2011, it is coming back in 2013.

Latvia

List of exhibitors in the Latvian Pavilion:

Lithuania

List of exhibitors in the Lithuanian Pavilion:
  • 1999 — Mindaugas Navakas and Eglė Rakauskaitė
  • 2001 — Deimantas Narkevičius
  • 2003 — Svajonė Stanikas and Paulius Stanikas
  • 2005 — Jonas Mekas
  • 2007 — Nomeda Urbonienė and Gediminas Urbonas
  • 2009 — Žilvinas Kempinas
  • 2011 — Darius Mikšys
  • 2013 — Gintaras Didžiapetris, Elena Narbutaitė, Liudvikas Buklys, Kazys Varnelis, Vytautė Žilinskaitė, Morten Norbye Halvorsen, Jason Dodge, Gabriel Lester, Dexter Sinister
  • 2015 — Dainius Liškevičius
  • 2017 — Žilvinas Landzbergas
  • 2019 — Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė, Lina Lapelytė

Luxembourg

The Cà del Duca, situated on the Canale Grande, has been the permanent site for Luxembourg's participations in the Venice Biennale since 1999.
List of exhibitors in the Luxembourg Pavilion:
  • 1990 — Marie-Paule Feiereisen
  • 1993 — Jean-Marie Biwer, Bertrand Ney
  • 1995 — Bert Theis
  • 1997 — Luc Wolf
  • 1999 — Simone Decker
  • 2001 — Doris Drescher
  • 2003 — Su-Mei Tse
  • 2007 — Jill Mercedes
  • 2009 — Gast Bouschet, Nadine Hilbert
  • 2011 — Martine Feipel, Jean Bechameil
  • 2013 — Catherine Lorent
  • 2015 — Filip Markiewicz
  • 2017 — Mike Bourscheid
  • 2019 — Marco Godinho

Macao

List of exhibitors in the Macao Pavilion:
  • 2015 — Mio Pang Fei

Maldives

The Maldives Pavilion was introduced in 2013.
List of exhibitors in the Maldives Pavilion:
  • 2013 — Mohamed Ali, Sama Alshaibi, Ursula Biemann, Stefano Cagol, Wael Darwesh, Moomin Fouad, Thierry Geoffrey, Khaled Hafez, Heidrun Holzfeind & Christoph Draeger, Hanna Husberg, Laura McLean & Kalliopi Tsipni-Kolaza, Achilleas Kentonis & Maria Papacaharalambous, Paul Miller, Gregory Niemeyer, Khaled Ramada, Oliver Ressler, Klaus Schafler, Patrizio Travagli, Wooloo,

Malta

The Malta Pavilion returned to the Venice Biennale in 2017. They also exhibited in 2000 and 1958. List of exhibitors in the Malta Pavilion:

Mauritius

The Pavilion of Mauritius was introduced in 2015 with an exhibition ‘From One Citizen You Gather an Idea’.
  • 2015 — Tania Antoshina, Djuneid Dulloo, Sultana Haukim, Nirmal Hurry, Alix Le Juge, Olga Jürgenson, Helge Leiberg, Krishna Luchoomun, Bik Van Der Pol, Vitaly Pushnitsky, Römer + Römer, Kavinash Thomoo
  • 2017 — Michael Lalljee, Robert Rauschenberg, SEO, Jacques Desiré, Wong So

Mexico

The was introduced for the first time in 1950 with the participation of the Muralists: David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and Rufino Tamayo. For this participation, David Alfaro Siqueiros was awarded the 1st prize to foreign artists. The national participation was interrupted until 2007. The exhibitors that have represented the pavilion are:

Mongolia

Names of exhibitions, exhibitors, curators and organizers of the Mongolia Pavilion:

Namibia

The Republic of Namibia officially participated for the first time at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022 with the exhibition A Bridge to the Desert curated by Marco Furio Ferrario, exhibiting the works of solo artist Renn. Covering an area of 20 hectares, the national participation was the most extensive of its edition and one of the most extensive of the history of Biennale. The exhibition included two introductory paths to the main works: a 140x2 meters wall covered with Namib desert pictures by Roland Blum and an immersive-interactive installation titled Seek to believe by Amebe Studio.
List of exhibitors in the Namibian Pavilion:
  • 2022 — Renn

New Zealand

List of exhibitors in the New Zealand Pavilion:

Nigeria

List of exhibitors in the Nigerian Pavilion:

North Macedonia

List of exhibitors in the Macedonian Pavilion:
  • 1993 — Gligor Stefanov and Petre Nikoloski
  • 1997 — Aneta Svetieva
  • 1999 — Iskra Dimitrova
  • 2001 — Javon Sumkovski
  • 2003 — Zaneta Bangeli and Vana Urosebic
  • 2005 — Antoni Maznevski
  • 2007 — Blagoja Manevski
  • 2009 — Nikola Uzunovski and Goce Nanevski
  • 2011 — Zarko Basevski and ZERO
  • 2013 — Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva
  • 2015 — Hristina Ivanoska, Yane Calovski
  • 2017 — Tome Adzievski
  • 2019 — Nada Prlja

Northern Ireland

List of exhibitors in the Northern Ireland Pavilion:
  • 2005 — "The Nature of Things", group show with Patrick Bloomer, Patrick Keogh, Ian Charlesworth, Factotum, Séamus Harahan, Michael Hogg, Sandra Johnston, Mary McIntyre, Katrina Moorhead, William McKeown, Darren Murray, Aisling O'Beirn, Peter Richards and Alistair Wilson
  • 2007 — Willie Doherty
  • 2009 — Susan MacWilliam

Pakistan

In 2019, Pakistan officially participated in the Venice Biennale for the first time.
List of exhibitors in the Pakistani Pavilion:
  • 2019 — Naiza Khan

Panama

The Republic of Panama officially participated for the first time at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024 with the exhibition Traces: On the Body and on the Land curated by Ana Elizabeth González, Mónica Kupfer, and Luz Bonadies.
List of exhibitors at the Panamanian Pavilion:

Peru

List of exhibitors in the Peruvian Pavilion:
  • 2015 — Raimond Chávez, Gilda Mantilla
  • 2017 — Juan Javier Salazar

Philippines

List of exhibitors in the Philippines Pavilion:

Portugal

In 1997, Portugal announced plans to build its own pavilion; these have not materialized since.
List of exhibitors:

San Marino

List of exhibitors:
  • 1982 — Gilberto Giovagnoli, Walter Gasperoni
  • 2011 — Group exhibition of 13 artists, including Dorothee Albrecht, Marco Bravura, Cristian Ceccaroni, Daniela Comani, Ottavio Fabbri, Verdiano Manzi, Patrizia Merendi, Omar Paolucci, Cristina Rotondaro, Lars Teichmann, Thea Tini, Daniela Tonelli, Paola Turroni
  • 2015 — Group exhibition of 11 artists, including Xu De Qi, Liu Ruowang, Ma Yuan, Li Lei, Zhang Hong Mei, Eleonora Mazza, Giovanni Giulianelli, Giancarlo Frisoni, Tony Margiotta, Elisa Monaldi, Valentina Pazzini
  • 2019 — Group exhibition of 12 artists including Gisella Battistini, Gabriele Gambuti, Giovanna Fra, Thea Tini, Chen Chengwei, Li Geng, Dario Ortiz, Tang Shuangning, Jens W. Beyrich, Xing Junqin, Xu de Qi, and Sebastián. Special Project by Martina Conti curated by Alessandro Castiglioni and Emma Zanella

Scotland

Scotland has participated in the Biennale since 2003 as a collateral event. Scotland + Venice is a partnership between the Scottish government and various British arts organizations, including the British Council and the National Galleries of Scotland.
List of exhibitors in the Scottish Pavilion:

Seychelles

The Seychelles Pavilion was first introduced in 2015, by the proposal of artist Nitin Shroff, featuring "A Clockwork Sunset". The Pavilion was commissioned by the Seychelles Art Projects Foundation and curated by Sarah J. McDonald and Victor Schaub Wong.
List of exhibitors in the Seychelles Pavilion:
  • 2015 — George Camille, Leon Wilma Lois Radegonde
  • 2017 — Alyssa Adams, Tristan Adams, George Camille, Christine Chetty-Payet, Zoe Chong Seng, Daniel Dodin, Charle Dodo, Allen Ernest Christine Harter, Nigel Henri, Alcide Libanotis, Marc Luc, Egbert Marday, Colbert Nourrice, Leon Radegonde, Danny Sopha

Singapore

List of exhibitors in the Singapore Pavilion:

Slovenia

List of exhibitors in the Slovenian Pavilion:

South Africa

Taiwan

The Taiwan Pavilion is housed in the Palazzo delle Prigioni

Türkiye

In 2013, Türkiye signed a 20-year lease for a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The state-funded Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts is the co-ordinator of the Turkish pavilion.
List of exhibitors in the Turkish Pavilion:

Tuvalu

Despite the cost to the third world country, Tuvalu decided to develop its first national pavilion in 2013 to highlight the negative effects of global warming on the nation, which is forecast to be one of the first countries to disappear due to sea level rise caused by climate change. After working closely with Taiwanese eco artist Vincent J.F. Huang at the 2012 UNFCCC COP18 session in Doha, Qatar and collaborating with the artist on several occasions, Tuvalu's government invited Huang to act as the representative artist for the pavilion. All of the artworks at the 2013 Tuvalu Pavilion focused on climate change and included In the Name of Civilization, a giant oil rig turned agent of destruction, and Prisoner's Dilemma, a depiction of the Statue of Liberty kneeling in apology to ghostly portraits of terra-cotta penguins symbolic of ecological sacrifices made to further the development of human civilization.
List of exhibitors for the Tuvalu Pavilion:
  • 2013 — Vincent J.F. Huang
  • 2015 — Vincent J.F. Huang

Ukraine

The PinchukArtCentre sponsored Ukraine's pavilions in 2007, 2009 and 2015.
List of exhibitors in the Ukrainian Pavilion:
  • 2003 – Victor Sydorenko "Millstones of Time", Ukraine
  • 2005 — Mykola Babak «Your Children, Ukraine»
  • 2007 – Victor Sydorenko "«A Poem about an Inland Sea»
  • 2011 — Oksana Mas «Post-vs-Proto-Renaissance»
  • 2013 — Ridnyi Mykola, Zinkovskyi Hamlet, Kadyrova Zhanna
  • 2015 — Yevgenia Belorusets, Nikita Kadan, Zhanna Kadyrova, Mykola Ridnyi & Serhiy Zhadan, Artem Volokitin, Anna Zvyagintseva and Open Group
  • 2017 — Boris Mikhailov

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates' Venice pavilion first opened in 2009, but 2015 was the first time an Emirati has served as curator.
List of exhibitors in the UAE Pavilion:

Wales

The Wales pavilion was introduced in 2003.
List of exhibitors in the Wales Pavilion:

Zimbabwe