Arte Laguna Prize International Contemporary Art Exhibition

From 6 to 29 November 2026, the exhibition dedicated to the finalists of the 20th and 21st editions will bring together works from over 50 countries. The overall winners will be announced during the opening on 6 November.

Venice, October 2026 – Everything is ready for the opening of one of the most eagerly awaited events in the international contemporary art scene. At the Arsenale Nord in Venice, the works of the 240 finalist artists from the 20th and 21st editions of the Arte Laguna Prize are ready to be unveiled to the public. The selected works offer a multifaceted snapshot of contemporary art, where identity, memory, the environment, AI and technology, the body and new forms of relationship engage in dialogue and question one another.

A path to follow

The exhibition at the Arsenale marks the culmination of a long journey involving thousands of candidates from all over the world.

The most exciting and suspenseful moment is scheduled for Friday 6 November at 5.00 pm, with the official opening ceremony. Two names will remain a secret right up until the very last second. Indeed, it is only during the opening that the public and the press will be able to discover, in person, the two overall winners of the two editions, celebrating the artists in a unique setting.

Visit the exhibition

• Location: Arsenale Nord, Venice
• When: from 7 November to 29 November
• Opening hours: Every day, from 10am to 6pm
• Opening and awards ceremony: 6 November, 5pm
• How to get there: By Waterbus (ACTV) from the station on lines 4.1 and 5.2, alighting at Bacini – Arsenale Nord. On foot via the footbridge starting from Campo della Celestia. From the airport, take the Alilaguna Blue Line, which runs every 30 minutes, alighting at Bacini Arsenale Nord.

Special Prizes: Beyond Venice

Alongside the main awards, the Arte Laguna Prize has announced the winners of the Special Prizes for both editions. These prizes have been established thanks to close collaboration with companies, foundations, galleries, artist residencies and international cultural institutions, which open up new avenues and opportunities to pursue artistic research beyond Italy.

For the 20th edition, the partners who selected and awarded the prizes to the artists were MoCA Association, BigCi, LITIX Spa, CiAL, NY20+, Ventana, Ghisolana Winery, Artorale, Al-Tiba9, ASEM Italia OdV, IL CERCHIO, Venice Design Week, MAMAM Museum.

For the 21st edition, however, the organisers were once again the MoCA Association, BigCi, LITIX Spa and NY20+ , joined by other key partners including The Swatch Art Peace Hotel, FOMAS Group, Château de Leignon, LAB852, Estudio Rambar, Culver City Art Foundation, Gabe Tenute, Galata – Museo del Mare, Gallery Studio 76, Crossing Art and the University Ricardo Palma.

To view all the winners and the individual opportunities offered by the partners: 20th edition and 21st edition.

Two juries, two perspectives on art

The 240 finalists were selected by two international juries comprising curators, directors of museums and galleries, researchers, critics and professionals from Europe, Asia and the Americas. The juries assessed the quality of the research, originality of expression, the soundness of the project and the ability to engage with the present.

For the 20th edition, the jury brought together figures such as Xiaoyu Weng, curator of Documenta 16 and artistic director of Art in General in New York; Michal Novotný of the National Gallery in Prague; Kostas Stasinopoulos, curator, writer and director at Kyklos – Centre of Arts and Cultures in Greece; and Emiliano Valdés, independent curator and Deputy Minister of Culture in Guatemala; Jemima Kulumba, co-founder of the Biennale of Women in Art (WIA); Mario Nanni, designer and founder of the marionanni studio and the Museo Virgola in Bologna; and Anastasia Dawson, independent curator and art consultant in Dubai.

The 21st edition saw the jury comprising, in addition to the aforementioned Jemima Kulumba, Sarah Crowe, an independent curator, writer and researcher; Yuko Hasegawa, former director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo (MOT), as well as one of Japan’s most influential and renowned curators and art historians; Wang Chunchen, curator of the Chinese Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013 and lecturer at the CAFA Art Museum; Hélio Menezes, co-curator of the renowned 2023 São Paulo Biennial and former director of the Museu Afro Brasil Emanoel Araujo in São Paulo; Gianluigi Ricuperati, founder and director of the Institute for Production of Wonder and Nova Express; and finally Linzi Stauvers, artistic director of the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham.

The names and works of the finalists are available on the dedicated page of the Arte Laguna Prize Archive. From 6 November, however, at the Arsenale Nord, these lists will be transformed into space, matter and presence; a place where the public can experience the works and artists of today first-hand.

Running concurrently with the Finalists’ Exhibition, the Arte Laguna Prize’s official collateral event, entitled "New Horizons", will open: a group exhibition on view until 29 November at Tesa 98 in the Arsenale Nord in Venice.

ARTE LAGUNA PRIZE
OPENING FRIDAY 6 NOVEMBER
5.00 pm opening
5.00 pm – 7.00 pm live performances
7.00 pm – 8.15 pm awards ceremony

The exhibition will remain open to the public until 29 November, every day from 10 am to 6 pm
Info: Finalists Exhibition 2026 | Arte Laguna Prize