Iran’s culture ministry has denied it has withdrawn from the 2026 Venice Biennale, which opened on 9 May, and says it is still determined to take part, even if not for the full duration.
Last week, the Biennale published a brief statement saying that “with regard to the National Participations in the 61st International Art Exhibition, In Minor Keys by Koyo Kouoh (9 May-22 November), it has been announced that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not participate,” without providing a reason. Further attempts by The Art Newspaper to obtain clarification were met with the same response.
“We neither submitted a withdrawal letter nor stated that we would not attend. Rather, we said we would participate and requested more time,” said Aydin Mahdizadeh Tehrani, the director-general of visual arts at Iran’s ministry of culture and Islamic guidance (MCIG) and the country’s pavilion commissioner, in comments to the Iran Students News Agency (ISNA) on Tuesday (12 May).
“In initial discussions there was no opposition to this, and they [the Biennale] did not say that granting time was impossible. In fact, they cooperated well—more than expected.”
Mahdizadeh Tehrani said the Biennale’s decision to announce Iran’s absence days before the opening likely reflects its internal procedures. He added that organisers had required confirmation by the end of March, when the US-Israel war with Iran was ongoing and the situation remained highly uncertain. He said the war played a major role in preventing a final agreement on participation in the Biennale, but that even beforehand a series of “major challenges”, including political and economic issues, had affected planning. He also cited a sharp change in currency values that pushed projected costs to three times the allocated budget, making full participation over the Biennale’s seven-month duration unfeasible. Iran proposed a shorter participation period of “two or three months”, which was rejected by organisers, he said.
In the ISNA interview, Mahdizadeh Tehrani said that MCIG sent a letter to the organisers on 10 May stating “that despite the opening having taken place and even if participation in the competition [Golden Lion awards] is no longer possible, we still insist that the Iranian pavilion be opened.”
He added that intervention from Iran’s foreign ministry, which “explicitly stressed how important Iran’s participation in Venice is”, has renewed efforts to secure a presence at this year’s event.
“We are currently awaiting the final response [from the Biennale], and I expect we will receive a definitive answer within the next couple of days,” Mahdizadeh Tehrani says. “Our intention and plan are to ensure that we are present in Venice over the summer.”
The Art Newspaper has contacted the Venice Biennale and MCIG for comment.
The proposed project by Iran would be a collective, technology-driven presentation incorporating “diverse viewpoints”, Mahdizadeh Tehrani said. “At present, we are mainly waiting for the final timeline to be confirmed. Our expectation is to have around two months,” he added.
He added that the situation has underscored the need for a long-term strategy for Iran’s presence at the Biennale, including proposals for a permanent secretariat and governing structure to support sustained participation. “Our aim is for participation in Venice not to remain an occasional project, but to become part of the office’s established functions and services, with its own defined and independent budget.”
Iran made its debut at the Biennale in 1956, under the Pahlavi regime (1925-1975), but its attendance until the 1979 Islamic Revolution was sporadic. After decades of absence, Iran returned in 2003, with participation remaining intermittent until 2015, when it became more consistent.
