MONGOLIA PAVILION at BIENNALE ARTE 2026
opening 08.05.2026
dates 09.05.2026-22.11.2026
The Mongolia Pavilion presents Entanglements: Connectivities Across Borders, examining how the Mongol imperial legacy and centuries of diplomacy, trade, and cultural exchange inform contemporary artistic practices. Led by the curator Uranchimeg Tsultem and co-curator Thomas Eller, the Pavilion brings together the work of four contemporary Mongolian artists – Nomin Bold, Gerelkhuu Ganbold, Tuguldur Yondonjamts, and Dorjderem Davaa – whose practices illuminate the enduring legacies of Eurasian connectivities. At a time when global discourse is increasingly shaped by division, displacement, and ecological precarity, this exhibition offers a counter-narrative rooted in historical pluralism, cultural exchange, and the resilience of nomadic worldviews.
Aligning with the Biennale’s theme In Minor Keys, the exhibition invites viewers to see art as a conduit for dialogue and connection across times and borders.
The Mongol Empire, often remembered for its military conquests, was also a powerful force of transcontinental integration. Its vast networks facilitated the movement of people, ideas, and materials across Eurasia, linking the steppes of Central Asia with the courts of Europe and the port of Venice. This exhibition revisits those historical entanglements – not as distant memories, but as living legacies that continue to shape artistic expression and cultural identity.
The selected artists engage with themes of spiritual diversity, ecological interdependence, and material hybridity. Their works span Mongol Zurag painting, video, textile art, and felt installation, reflecting both traditional techniques and contemporary concerns. Through their practices, they explore the porous boundaries between human and nonhuman, visible and invisible, past and present.
Venice, as a historical site of exchange and diplomacy with the Mongol world, becomes a symbolic anchor for this exhibition. The Pavilion invites viewers to consider how art can serve as a vessel for dialogue across borders – geographic, cultural, and temporal. In doing so, Entanglements positions Mongolian contemporary art within global art history and decolonial discourse, offering a vision of Mongolia as a space of shared histories, mutual respect, and creative possibility.
MONGOLIA PAVILION
Entanglements: Connectivities Across Borders
Commissioner: Sainbayar Surenkhuu, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth;
Curators: Uranchimeg Tsultem, Thomas Eller;
Artists: Nomin Bold, Gerelkhuu Ganbold, Tuguldur Yondonjamts, Dorjderem Davaa;
Venue: Squero Castello, Salizada Streta 368
Opening celebration: May 8, 4.00 PM
May 9 – November 22, 2026
