La Biennale on Air

The Biennale Cinema 2026 is almost here – and this episode is our warm-up for eleven days of bold films. Artistic Director Alberto Barbera gives us a first taste of this year’s Festival, while Jury member Daniel Blumberg reflects on returning to the Venice Lido in a new role. We celebrate the Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement, Ellen Burstyn and George Clooney, through memories from the Historical Archive, then venture into the Biennale Arte 2026 with Kader Attia and meet filmmaker Bruno Forzani in the pages of the Biennale Magazine. Consider this your pre-Festival primer.

How can dance challenge our perception of time? The July 2026 episode of La Biennale on Air explores this question with Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipient Bangarra Dance Theatre and artists taking part in the Biennale Danza 2026. It also enters the world of museums and cultural heritage with Gala Porras-Kim, featured in the Applied Arts Pavilion presented by La Biennale di Venezia and the V&A at the Biennale Arte 2026, looks towards the upcoming Venice International Film Festival with juror Francesco Casetti, and encounters Manuela Infante’s more-than-human perspective on “plant theatre” in Emisferi / Hemispheres, the latest issue of the Biennale Magazine.

At the start of summer, La Biennale on Air enters the Arsenale, where the Historical Archive’s new home opens as a place of memory, research and future creation. The episode then moves through Caterina Barbieri’s music, an artistic encounter with María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Kamaal Malak, voices from several protagonists of the Biennale Teatro 2026, Wayne McGregor’s reflections on Time Does Not Exist, and Joshua Oppenheimer’s contribution to the new issue of the Biennale Magazine, tracing how archives, performance, dance and cinema reshape our sense of history, ritual and time.

Venice is entering its busiest cultural season: Biennale Arte 2026 has officially opened, the 54th International Theatre Festival is about to begin, and the new home of the Historical Archive is preparing to open its doors at the Arsenale. In this episode of La Biennale on Air, Linda Goode Bryant, Wayne McGregor, Mona Fastvold, Willem Dafoe and Mario Banushi reflect on memory, creation, coexistence and experimentation across contemporary art, dance, cinema and theatre.

An episode conceived as a preview listening guide to the 61st International Art Exhibition: through sonic suggestions and literary references, La Biennale on Air tunes into the atmospheres of In Minor Keys, the curatorial project by Koyo Kouoh. From the voices of those who helped shape the Exhibition to a conversation with filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang, featured in the latest issue of the Biennale Magazine, this episode weaves together art, cinema, music and poetry, offering an early way into the world of the Biennale Arte 2026 before you arrive.

This episode of La Biennale on Air is devoted to visionary women and their transformative voices.
Spanning the different Departments of La Biennale di Venezia, our guests include the iconic musician and artist Laurie Anderson; Silver Lions for Dance and Music, Mamela Nyamza and Sarah Davachi; the acclaimed Emma Dante, Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Biennale Teatro 2026; and two Hollywood standouts, Mona Fastvold and Amanda Seyfried.
Their exceptional contributions to today’s culture are explored through precious archival moments connected to the upcoming 61st International Art Exhibition, In Minor Keys, alongside exclusive interviews and a preview of the new issue of the Biennale Magazine.

La Biennale on Air returns in February with an episode of images, masks and love stories.
We open in the Historical Archive with a tribute to Man Ray, before stepping into the magic of the Biennale Carnevale 2026, where art meets sport in dialogue with the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
From the poetic reflections of Carolyn Carlson on her article published in the very first issue of the Biennale Magazine to three unforgettable romances from the Venice International Film Festival – including Lost in Translation – this month’s chapter weaves together legacy and new perspectives, performance and passion, celebrating the many ways creativity transforms how we see, play and love. With insights from, among others, Olympian artists Slaven Dizdarević, Simone Barlaam and Zeina Rashid, and film icons such as Ang Lee and Tony Leung Chiu-wai.

La Biennale on Air opens 2026 with a journey through memory and the present, centred on Marina Abramović and her enduring relationship with La Biennale di Venezia, explored through archival materials and voices from Christine Macel and Cecilia Alemani.
The episode moves across disciplines, from Architecture with Carlo Ratti and the Olympic Torch for Milano Cortina 2026, to Theatre with Davide Iodice’s Pinocchio. What Is a Person?, before turning to the Biennale Magazine, a playful horoscope of the year ahead, and Cinema with Classici fuori Mostra, bringing timeless masterpieces of film history back to the big screen.

In the festive atmosphere of the final episode of the year, La Biennale on Air closes 2025 with a special edition filled with ideas, voices and inspirations from across La Biennale di Venezia. At its heart is the return of Luciano Berio’s Coro at the Teatro La Fenice (6 > 7 December 2025), with choreography by Wayne McGregor, who guides us through this poignant Historical Archive’s Special Project – its music resonating throughout the episode.
Looking ahead, we hear reflections from Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu, newly appointed Curators of the Biennale Architettura 2027, before heading to the cinema for Father Mother Sister Brother by Jim Jarmusch, winner of the Golden Lion at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. The programme is completed by an exclusive conversation from Biennale Magazine between Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan and Julian Schnabel, alongside a selection of seasonal reading recommendations from the Artistic Directors. 

In the third episode of La Biennale on Air, we explore a range of projects that capture the breadth of La Biennale di Venezia’s artistic and intellectual landscape. From a musical tribute to Franco Battiato and a dialogue with the humanoid robot Alter3 on the themes of the Biennale Architettura 2025, to early insights into the 61st International Art Exhibition (9 May > 22 November 2026) and a powerful homage to Pier Paolo Pasolini on the 50th anniversary of his death, the episode brings together voices, archives and experiments. It also includes the latest news, with the theatrical release of The Smashing Machine. Contributions come from Malika Ayane, Carlo Ratti, Luc Steels, Willem Dafoe, and Dwayne Johnson – among others.

The music in this episode is drawn from the Historical Archive’s Special Project Arcipelago Battiato (17 > 18 November 2025, Teatro alle Tese, Arsenale).

In the second episode of La Biennale on Air, sound becomes our compass. From the Biennale Musica 2025, Artistic Director Caterina Barbieri reflects on music, Venice, and her Star Within, while Meredith Monk, Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, shares an intimate conversation on the boundless possibilities of the human voice. Other artists from the Festival – Carl Craig, Actress, and Fennesz – chart new constellations of electronic sound. Meanwhile in Istanbul, curator Luigia Lonardelli and artist Cevdet Erek discuss the travelling project Amfibio, part of the Historical Archive’s Special Project The Wind Makes the Sky. La Biennale di Venezia in the Footsteps of Marco Polo. The episode closes with cinematic echoes: Orson Welles remembered by Peter Cowie, and a tribute to Robert Redford.
 
Music interludes between sections feature excerpts from works by the Biennale College Musica 2025 artists: res_, Morgana, Francesca Fabrizi, Luka Aron, and Jasmine Morris.

In the pilot episode of La Biennale on Air, we dive into the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, sail aboard the floating platform AquaPraça, revisit Aldo Rossi’s legendary Teatro del Mondo, dance alongside herds of life-size puppet animals with the Biennale College Danza dancers, get a preview of the Biennale Musica 2025, and browse the latest issue of the Biennale Magazine. This first episode unfolds through discoveries and encounters that cross disciplines and generations – with contributions from, among others, Alberto Barbera, Caterina Barbieri, Guillermo del Toro, Werner Herzog, Jude Law, Carlo Ratti, Benny Safdie, and Charlotte Wells.

The episodes are also available on:

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