The second edition of the Malta Biennale will feature 28 national and thematic pavilions, doubling the number of participating pavilions from the first edition in 2024, its organisers have announced.
Out of the 28 pavilions participating in the contemporary art platform, seven will be national pavilions, while 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, the US 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 to December 2026), via the national commissioner and partners of the Malta Biennale – Arts Council Malta; while another collaboration will take place with the Troy Museum in Turkey.
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, which will be organised across two of the main Malta Biennale venues, Fort St Elmo in Valletta, and the Old Armoury of the Knights in Vittoriosa − will feature a mixture of art forms, from two- and three-dimensional art to installations, 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.
Public events
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, Vittoriosa, Xagħra and Gozo’s Ċittadella. Tickets for the Malta Biennale 2026, will be available for purchase via the Malta Biennale website 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.
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Read also ‘A benchmark biennale’.