Biennale of Sydney 2026, lead by Artistic Director Hoor Al Qasimi, will take its cue from ‘Rememory’, a term coined by American author Toni Morrison in her novel Beloved (1987).
Al Qasimi explains: “‘Rememory’ connects the delicate space between remembering and forgetting, delving into the fragmented and forgotten parts of history, where recollection becomes an act of reassembling fragments of the past – whether personal, familial, or collective.”
The first wave of 37 artists and collectives for the 2026 Biennale has been announced alongside the theme. Of those first 37 announcements, 15 First Nations artists have been commissioned to create new work – including Guatemala-based Ángel Poyón, Yolngu artist Gunybi Ganambarr, Indigenous Canadian creative Tania Willard and Maya-Kaqchikel visual artist Edgar Calel – thanks to a partnership with Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. They will work together with Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain First Nations Curatorial Fellow, Bruce Johnson McLean, to create their works.
McLean says he looks forward to working alongside these artists and adds that, “through this collaboration, we aim to foster connections between communities here and around the world”.
Participating artists also include Abdul Abdullah (Australia/Thailand), Dennis Golding (Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay, Australia), John Prince Siddon (Walmajarri, Australia), CAMP (India), Chen Chieh-jen (Taiwan), Decolonizing Art Architecture Project (DAAR) (Palestine), Lamia Joreige (Lebanon), Taysir Batniji (Gaza, Palestine/France) and Tuan Andrew Nguyen (Vietnam/US).
Al Qasimi says of her curatorial selection, “Through the defiant act of sharing, seeing, and understanding, the artists and cultural practitioners I’ve invited to participate explore the hidden effects of history and how it continues to shape the present in an evolving and consuming conversation. Rather than focusing on linear storytelling, I hope to highlight how we can become active participants in retelling our collective stories by revisiting and reinterpreting past events.”
Read: 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial artists announced
The 2026 Biennale is free and will present works across the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), Campbelltown Arts Centre, Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney, Penrith Regional Gallery and the White Bay Power Station.
Arts worker, creative producer and mentor, Claudia Chidiac, and writer, educator, cultural worker and creative producer Paula Abood have been appointed as Community Ambassadors for the 2026 edition. They will provide advice on local community engagement in the Greater Western Sydney area and act as liaisons on behalf of the Biennale of Sydney.
Biennale of Sydney 2026 runs from 14 March to 14 June 2026. More details to come.
