The Busan Biennale Organizing Committee held a press briefing on May 27 to unveil the major curatorial framework for the 2026 Busan Biennale, including 44 participating artists and collectives (47 individuals in total) from 23 countries, as well as the exhibition venues.
 
Led by co-artistic directors Evelyn Simons and Amal Khalaf, the biennale will take place from August 29 to November 1 under the title 《Dissident Chorus》. The 65-day exhibition will unfold across Busan Museum of Contemporary Art, Space Wonji, and the former Busan Nam High School.
 
One of the defining characteristics of the 2026 Busan Biennale is the strong presence of artists whose practices center on collective forms such as sound, music, and performance.
 
Where previous biennales often focused primarily on visual viewing experiences within exhibition spaces, 《Dissident Chorus》 is conceived as an immersive environment in which visitors actively enter into the exhibition through live performances, club culture, shared rhythms, and bodily movement.
 
With a large number of participating artists working across the boundaries of visual art, music, choreography, DJ culture, and social practice, the biennale notably attempts to transform the exhibition space itself into a living collective stage.

Including the artists previously announced in April, the 44 participating artists and collectives from 23 countries presented this time together construct the multilayered narrative of 《Dissident Chorus》 through a wide range of artistic practices.
 
Using sound as material, archiving bodily movement and memory, and exploring forms of gathering and community, the participants intersect the exhibition’s themes with the specificities of the three venues through their own artistic languages. A final list of participating artists — expected to include around seven additional artists or collectives currently in the final stages of coordination — will also be announced soon.
 
Meanwhile, following the release of the final participant lineup, the Busan Biennale Organizing Committee plans to sequentially unveil a range of related programs, including performances, sound projects, and artist talks. In particular, live performances and music programs will continue both inside and outside the exhibition venues throughout the biennale.

Co-artistic directors Evelyn Simons and Amal Khalaf stated, “We hope this biennale will offer visitors a moment to slow down, remain together, and sense one another’s presence.”
 
They continued, “In today’s world, saturated with extractive images, violent language, and surveillance, we hope to step back from the purely visual and instead attune ourselves to sound, bodily sensation, poetic experience, and things that are not easily captured or revealed. We hope audiences will allow themselves to be generously embraced by the works, sharing experiences of comfort, resistance, and solidarity together.”
 
Participating Artists of the 2026 Busan Biennale
Suki Seokyeong Kang, Guely Morató Loredo, Sungeun Kim, Natasha Tontey, Dew Kim, Lara Ögel, Lala Rukh, Luiz Roque, Sungsil Ryu, Moe Satt, Mira Mann, The House of Korean Protest Songs, Hyunsung Park, Heaven Baek, Bhenji Ra, Brahim Tall, Shuang Li, Aliaskar Abarkas, Alison Nguyen, Yazan Khalili, Jantsankhorol Erdenebayar, Ursula K. Le Guin, Éric Baudelaire, Ultra-red, Umi Ishihara, Nkisi, Lee Dong-Keun, Minouk Lim, Zahra Malkani, Sojung Jun, Joshua Serafin, Joar Songcuya, Eunji Cho, Jota Mombaça, Julian Abraham “Togar”, Julien Creuzet, Kamala Ibrahim Ishag, Tanat Teeradakorn, Tai Shani, Tianzhuo Chen, Tom Hallet, Fatima Kaleem Khan, R.I.P. Germain, and 5D (Sammy Lee, Mark Lowe, Sarah Shin).

References

• 부산비엔날레조직위원회 보도자료 (Busan Biennale Organizing Committee Press Release)