Art has a profound ability to bring us together, creating quiet, intentional spaces where we can truly listen and connect across cultures. Often described as the “Olympics of the art world”, the Venice Biennale is much more than a showcase of global talent.
It is a rare and enduring platform where nations, ideas and audiences converge in a shared moment of reflection. It reminds us that even in an age saturated with digital exchange, there is no substitute for physical presence and human connection.
Participation through a national pavilion is especially significant. Each pavilion is more than an exhibition – it is an act of cultural authorship. Countries shape their own narratives, presenting perspectives rooted in local histories while engaging with global discourse.
For the UAE, our pavilion represents a commitment not only to showcasing artistic talent, but also to contributing meaningfully to international conversations. Since its debut in 2009, the National Pavilion UAE has sought to foreground untold stories and expand understanding of our cultural landscape.
Art and culture are not luxuries. They are essential frameworks through which societies understand themselves. They offer spaces for questioning, connection and imagining futures otherwise unseen. In a world increasingly defined by fragmentation, cultural platforms such as the Biennale serve as vital sites of dialogue – places where differences are not only acknowledged, but also explored.
In this sense, the pavilion becomes more than a physical structure. It is a place of gathering, community and encounter.
This year, the National Pavilion UAE presents Washwasha, curated by Bana Kattan. It is an exhibition that turns our attention to the subtle yet powerful language of sound – whispers, echoes and the spaces in between.
To understand the UAE today is to listen to a deeply layered home of more than 200 nationalities. Our current soundscape is a rich, overlapping chorus of languages, diasporas and shared histories.
In Arabic, “washwasha” evokes intimacy – the quiet exchange of voices, the transmission of memory, the act of listening as much as speaking. By bringing together a diverse group of artists whose practices are embedded in the Emirates, the exhibition invites visitors to slow down, attune themselves to what is often overlooked and consider how meaning can reside in the smallest of gestures.
This exploration resonates deeply with the Biennale’s overarching theme, In Minor Keys, curated by Koyo Kouoh and continued posthumously by her team. The notion of the “minor” asks us to reconsider scale and significance – to shift away from dominant narratives and towards quieter, more nuanced modes of expression.
In this alignment, Washwasha becomes both a local articulation and a global conversation, bridging the UAE’s cultural sensibilities with a broader curatorial inquiry into perception, attention and resonance.
What audiences encounter in Venice is the culmination of more than a year and a half of dedicated work. It is the harvest of a deeply rooted, home-grown cultural ecosystem. This year’s pavilion represents a full-circle moment for our community.
Among our exhibiting artists are former Venice interns who began their early careers navigating the Biennale with us and are now returning to the global stage as established practitioners.
We also proudly welcome back an artist who represented the UAE in our very first pavilion in 2009. Several participating artists are alumni of the Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artist Fellowship, a transformative programme by our commissioner, the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation.
This exhibition is a testament to our long-term commitment to developing the UAE arts scene at home, and to what can happen when sustained investment is made in artists and creative communities.
From the earliest stages of research and curatorial development to the complexities of production and installation, each pavilion is the result of sustained collaboration among artists, curators, institutions and supporters.
This process is itself a testament to the value we place on culture. It demands patience, rigour and an unwavering belief in the importance of artistic expression.
That belief feels particularly urgent in our current moment. Across the world, we are witnessing profound social, political and environmental challenges that test our collective resilience.
The UAE, too, navigates these complexities while maintaining a strong commitment to openness, innovation and cultural investment. Our participation in the Biennale reflects that spirit – a confidence in the role of art not only to respond to the present, but also to help shape the future.
In Venice, amid a multitude of voices, the National Pavilion UAE offers its own – a quiet whisper, perhaps, but one that carries across distances. In listening closely, we may find that it is often in these minor keys that the most enduring connections are made.
Washwasha will run at the National Pavilion UAE at Venice Biennale as part of In Minor Keys by Koyo Kouoh from May 9 to November 22
The National Pavilion UAE – Venice Biennale is Commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation and supported by the UAE Ministry of Culture
