The Malta Biennale announces participating pavilions for the 2026 edition
The Malta Biennale 2026 is proud to announce that the second edition of the contemporary art platform will feature as many as 28 national and thematic pavilions – doubling the number of participating pavilions from the first edition.
Out of the 28 pavilions participating in the Malta Biennale 2026, seven will be national pavilions whilst the remainder will be thematic pavilions. The artists and curators of the pavilions cover the following 25 countries:
Australia, Belgium, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, USA and Uzbekistan.
The national pavilions will be organised by: China, France, Italy, Malta, Poland, Serbia and Spain.
For the coming edition, there are also important collaborations with the Gwangju Biennale, in which Malta will be participating next year (September – December 2026), via the national commissioner and partners of the Malta Biennale – Arts Council Malta, while another collaboration will take place with the CABININ – Çanakkale Bienali Initiative. Furthermore, through the pavilions, there will be further collaboration and direct engagement between local and international artists from various art fields including music, theatre, and dance.
The pavilions will be organised across two of the main Malta Biennale venues – Fort St Elmo in Valletta, and the Old Armoury of the Knights in Birgu. The Malta national pavilion will be situated at MUŻA – the National Community Art Museum in Valletta. The pavilions will feature a mixture of art forms, from two- and three-dimensional art, to installations, to performance art and live action work. Some of the pavilions have also incorporated an artist-in-residence programme, for participating artists to be able to produce site- and space-specific work for the Malta Biennale 2026.
A dynamic programme of public events will also accompany the pavilions which include, but are not limited to, interactive workshops and participatory events tailored to engage artists, students, schools, colleges, and the wider community. The programme will feature artist-in-residence projects, public talks, lectures, and informal conversations, alongside more structured formats such as panel and round table discussions, conferences, and online dialogues with international experts. By combining on-site and online formats, these initiatives aim to foster dialogue, collaboration, and creative exploration. Complementing these knowledge-sharing activities are hands-on workshops, demonstrations, communal sound gatherings, and audiovisual performances, all designed to cultivate collective experiences and deepen cultural exchange.
The Malta Biennale 2026 will take place from March 11 to May 29, 2026 (March 11 – 13 preview days), across some 11 Heritage Malta historic sites and museums in Valletta, Birgu, Xagħra and Gozo’s Ċittadella.
Tickets for the Malta Biennale 2026 will be available for purchase via the Malta Biennale website – www.maltabiennale.art – on December 15.
The Malta Biennale is a Heritage Malta initiative, organised in partnership with Arts Council Malta and in collaboration with Visit Malta, the Ministry of Culture, Lands and Local Government, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Tourism.
The Malta Biennale is online: www.maltabiennale.art
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn: @maltabiennale.art
Verżjoni bil-Malti
Jitħabbru l-Padiljuni għall-Malta Biennale 2026
Il-padiljuni għat-tieni edizzjoni tal-Malta Biennale rduppjaw meta mqabbla mal-ewwel edizzjoni. Għall-biennale tas-sena d-dieħla, minbarra l-wirja ewlenija internazzjonali se jkun hemm ukoll 28 padiljun bejn dawk nazzjonali u oħrajn tematici.
Mit-28 padiljun li se jipparteċipaw fil-Malta Biennale 2026, sebgħa se jkunu padiljuni nazzjonali filwaqt li l-bqija se jkunu padiljuni tematiċi. Din l-edizzjoni se tara wkoll l-involviment ta’ artisti u kuraturi tal-padiljuni minn 25 pajjiż differenti:
l-Awstralja, il-Belġju, iċ-Ċina, l-Eġittu, il-Finlandja, Franza, il-Ġermanja, il-Gana, il-Greċja, l-Indja, l-Iran, l-Irlanda, l-Istati Uniti tal-Amerika, l-Italja, il-Korea, il-Malasja, Malta, il-Marokk, il-Polonja, is-Serbja, Spanja, it-Turkija, l-Uganda, l-Ukraina u l-Użbekistan.
Il-padiljuni nazzjonali huma kkummissjonati miċ-Ċina, Franza, l-Italja, Malta, il-Polonja, is-Serbja u Spanja.
Din l-edizzjoni tal-Malta Biennale ħolqot ukoll bosta kollaborazzjonijiet importanti, fosthom mal-Gwangju Biennale, li Malta se tieħu sehem fih is-sena d-dieħla (Settembru – Diċembru 2026), bl-għajnuna tal-kummissarju nazzjonali u l-imsieħeb tal-Malta Biennale – il-Kunsill Malti għall-Arti, filwaqt li kollaborazzjoni oħra hija ma' CABININ – Çanakkale Bienali Initiative. Dawn se jkollhom il-padiljuni tagħhom għall-Malta Biennale tas-sena d-dieħla. Minbarra dan, il-padiljuni se jippermettu iżjed impenn mill-qrib u kollaborazzjoni bejn artisti lokali u internazzjonali minn diversi oqsma tal-arti, bħall-mużika, it-teatru u ż-żfin.
Żewġ siti prinċipali tal-Malta Biennale – il-Forti Sant’Iermu fil-Belt Valletta u l-Armerija l-Antika tal-Kavallieri fil-Birgu – se jkunu qed jilqgħu l-padiljuni. Il-padiljun Malti se jkun fil-MUŻA, il-Mużew Nazzjonali tal-Arti fil-Komunità. Fil-padiljuni se jintwerew diversi forom ta’ arti, minn arti bidimensjonali u tridimensjonali, u installazzjonijiet, sa arti performattiva u padiljuni fejn tkun tista’ tara l-artisti jaħdmu. Fil-fatt, xi wħud mill-padiljuni inkorporaw programmi ta’ residenza artistika, li joffru spazju lill-artisti li qed jipparteċipaw biex joħolqu xogħol għal spazju jew sit partikolari tal-Malta Biennale 2026.
Minbarra l-padiljuni, se jiġi organizzat programm b’saħħtu ta’ avvenimenti għall-pubbliku, li jinkludu workshops interattivi u avvenimenti oħra organizzati bl-għan li jinvolvu ruħhom kemm l-artisti kif ukoll l-istudenti, l-iskejjel, il-kulleġġi u l-pubbliku ġenerali. Il-programm se jkopri proġetti ta’ residenzi artistiċi, lezzjonijiet, kif ukoll taħditiet pubbliċi u informali, flimkien ma’ avvenimenti kemxejn iktar strutturati, bħal diskussjonijiet bejn mistednin speċjali, konferenzi, u djalogi online ma’ esperti internazzjonali. Il-forom differenti ta’ dawn l-inizjattivi qed joħolqu opportunità sabiex jitrawwem djalogu, tisseddaq iktar kollaborazzjoni u jingħata lok għall-esplorazzjoni kreattiva. Attivitajiet oħra li se jkomplu jibnu fuq dawn l-inizjattivi għal firxa ikbar ta’ għarfien, u li jinkoraġġixxu iktar skambji ta’ esperjenzi kollettivi u kulturali, huma workshops prattiċi, dimostrazzjonijiet, laqgħat immersivi bl-użu ta’ strumenti mużikali, kif ukoll wirjiet awdjoviżivi.
Il-Malta Biennale 2026 jiftaħ fil-11 ta’ Marzu u jibqa’ sejjer sad-29 ta’ Mejju tas-sena d-dieħla (wirjiet bikrin mill-11 sat-13 ta’ Marzu), u se jittella’ fi 11-il sit storiku u mużewijiet ta’ Heritage Malta fil-Belt Valletta, il-Birgu, ix-Xagħra u ċ-Ċittadella f’Għawdex.
Il-biljetti għall-Malta Biennale 2026 se jkunu jistgħu jinxtraw mis-sit uffiċjali tal-Malta Biennale – www.maltabiennale.art – mill-15 ta’ Diċembru.
Il-Malta Biennale huwa organizzat u mtella’ minn Heritage Malta, u qed isir bi sħubija mal-Kunsill Maltigħall-Arti u bil-koperazzjoni ta’ Visit Malta, il-Ministeru għall-Kultura, l-Artijiet u l-Gvern Lokali, u l-Ministeru għall-Affarijiet Barranin u t-Turiżmu.
Is-sit uffiċjali tal-Malta Biennale huwa: www.maltabiennale.art
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn: @maltabiennale.art