Malta to debut at South Korea Biennale in 2026

Malta will be participating in the 2026 South Korea Biennale for the first time alongside its regular presence at the Venice international art platform.

The South Korea Biennale in Gwangju is recognised as a key contemporary arts biennale in Asia.

Announcing the participation, Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said it reflected the “high calibre of Maltese artists and the continuous growth of their presence on the global stage”.

He added that Malta’s debut at the Gwangju Biennale is an “important step in extending its cultural footprint beyond Europe”.

Arts Council Malta CEO Luke Dalli said the two projects in Venice and Gwangju bring together “responsibility with ambition, uniting artists, curators and producers whose work pushes boundaries and opens new spaces for international dialogue.”

The 61st Venice Biennale will be titled In Minor Keys, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. This theme, chosen by Kouoh herself, explores the spaces found within the “minor keys” of music, focusing on poetic, sensorial, and ethereal elements often associated with them.

Malta’s Pavilion, titled No Need to Sparkle; Experiments in Love and Revolution, will be curated by Margerita Pulè and created by artists Adrian MM Abela, Charlie Cauchi and Raphael Vella.

The Pavilion, open from May 9 to November 22, 2026, responds to present-day realities by embracing Aristotle’s idea of “wise doubt” – a reminder that doubt can be an active and resistant force.

The work invites audiences into layered fictions, shifting narratives and melting storylines, provoking deeper reflection on truth, perception and belief systems – themes that align with the wider cultural ambitions of our country.

“No Need to Sparkle is built upon a wide range of historical and conceptual material, placing myths, stories and contemporary media side by side to explore how we understand reality. Each artist presents a screen-based and multimedia installation leading visitors into an uncertain terrain where what appears real becomes illusion, and certainty dissolves into ambiguity. The Pavilion invites us to prioritise empathy and multiplicity over fixed belief, acknowledging that multiple voices and perspectives can coexist,” Pulè said.

Malta’s debut at the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, to be held between September and December 2026, will feature the project BEJN / IN-BETWEEN, presented under the Biennale’s theme You Must Change Your Life.

Hosted at the Horanggasy Art Polygon Gallery, the artistic team comprises four leading contemporary artists: Norbert Francis Attard, Sam Alekksandra, Julien Vinet, and Michael Quinton. Toni Attard is the project director, while Infinita, led by Mark Anthony Sammut, will provide extended reality (XR) support.

“The project will map an ecosystem unfolding between Malta and Korea through immersive installations, transforming the Malta Pavilion into a living threshold. The Pavilion will therefore create a new ‘between’: a reimagined sacred space for an age of polarisation – not as a refuge from tension, but as a crucible where opposing energies generate their own light,” the artists explained.

Norbert Attard’s work in ArtPolygon uses elastic material to explore Maltese identity. PONKS’ Rope Temple in the GlassPolygon creates a poetic link between Korea and Malta through sacred verses and ropes. Quinton’s work in the BasePolygon offers sound interactions and transnational experiences, expanded further through workshops and creative collaboration.