SHIRIN NESHAT | Do U Dare! | Palazzo Marin, Venice, Italy

"STRANGE RULES", curated by Mat Dryhurst, Holly Herndon, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Adriana Rispoli at Palazzo Diedo, explores the emerging field of “Protocol Art” through works by international artists including Philippe Parreno, Trevor Paglen, Avery Singer, Lynn Hershman Leeson, and Agnieszka Kurant. Bringing together art, technology, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructures, the exhibition examines the invisible systems and protocols that shape contemporary culture and perception. Conceived as both an exhibition and a research platform, "STRANGE RULES" transforms Palazzo Diedo into a laboratory for performances, installations, screenings, and collaborative projects that investigate human-machine co-creation, algorithmic governance, and the shifting relationship between artistic authorship and technological systems.

• Palazzo Diedo
• Fondamenta Trapolin, 2386, 30121
• 4 maggio – 22 novembre 2026

"WHO’S A GOOD BOY?" at Contemporary Forces in Venice presents works from the Kelterborn Collection through a reflection on power, authority, and control. Bringing together artists including Joseph Beuys, Gary Hill, Claire Fontaine, Sung Tieu, Ulay, Laure Prouvost, Nora Turato, and Renzo Martens, the exhibition explores how systems of dominance are embedded within language, repetition, and everyday structures. Taking its title from a work by Nora Turato, the exhibition approaches authority not as spectacle, but as an unstable emotional condition shaped by tension, seduction, and surveillance. Echoing the curatorial theme "In Minor Keys", the project proposes the “minor” as a strategy for rethinking contemporary power dynamics through resonance, vulnerability, and perceptual shifts.

• Contemporary Forces
• Giudecca 710/C
• 7 maggio – 27 settembre 2026

"Do U Dare!" by Shirin Neshat, presented during the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, is a new film trilogy curated by Ilaria Bernardi and Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, organized by Associazione Genesi and Banca Ifis, and presented by Lia Rumma Gallery and Gladstone Gallery in collaboration with Magonza. Inspired by the story of Iranian-born media personality Nasim Aghdam, the project explores themes of exile, isolation, protest, artistic obsession, and the fragile boundary between creation and self-destruction. Set across different socioeconomic landscapes of New York, the three films intertwine social realism and surrealism to reflect on displacement, identity, visibility, and the female experience between Iranian and American cultures. Through fictionalized narratives and performative imagery, "Do U Dare!" examines the emotional and political tensions of contemporary society, while questioning the human cost of marginalization and the transformative power of art.

• Palazzo Marin
• Fondamenta Narisi, 2541, 30124 Venezia VE.
• 9 maggio – 6 settembre 2026

"Transforming Energy" by Marina Abramović, presented at the Gallerie dell’Accademia during the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, marks the first major exhibition dedicated to a living female artist in the museum’s history. Curated by Shai Baitel, the exhibition creates a dialogue between Abramović’s performance practice and the Renaissance masterpieces of Venice, unfolding across both the permanent collection and temporary exhibition spaces. Bringing together iconic works such as "Imponderabilia", "Rhythm 0", "Balkan Baroque", and "Carrying the Skeleton" alongside new site-specific installations, the exhibition explores themes of endurance, vulnerability, transformation, and energy transmission through participatory environments and immersive experiences.

• Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
• Calle della Carità, 1050, 30123
• 6 maggio – 19 ottobre 2026

"Venetian Diary" by Ilya Kabakov and Emilia Kabakov unfolds between the La Biennale di Venezia and the city itself, placing the people of Venice at its centre. Curated by Cesare Biasini Selvaggi and Giulia Abate, the participatory project enters into dialogue with "Note persistenti", the exhibition project of the Venetian Pavilion curated by Giovanna Zabotti, involving around 500 residents of the lagoon invited to share personal objects and testimonies reflecting their relationship with the city. Presented across Ca’ Tron and the Venetian Pavilion, "Venetian Diary" takes shape as a collective self-portrait of Venice: a constellation of memories, objects, and stories reflecting the city’s social and emotional dimension, transforming the installation into a space of shared listening and participation.

• Ca' Tron
• Santa Croce 1957, Venezia
• 9 maggio – 28 giugno 2026

Alfredo Jaar’s installation *The End of the World* is featured in the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, *In Minor Keys*, curated by Koyo Kouoh. Presented by Lia Rumma Gallery, the work explores the geopolitical and environmental impact of extracting critical minerals essential to digital technologies, electromobility, and data systems. Developed in collaboration with geographer and political geologist Adam Bobbette, the installation centres on a cube composed of ten strategic raw materials, including cobalt, lithium, coltan, and rare earths, drawing attention to the global tensions and human consequences tied to resource exploitation. This marks Jaar’s fifth participation in the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.

• 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Arsenale
• Campo della Tana 2169/F
• 9 maggio – 22 novembre 2026