2026

For the Azerbaijan Pavilion the artist presents The Attention, an exhibition featuring seven works across seven rooms and which transforms traditional Azerbaijani carpet-making into contemporary works that reinterpret heritage. Canvas: How did you approach shaping the pavilion, and what kind of experience do you hope visitors will have? Faig Ahmed: I have created a space where one does not encounter art as an object but rather as a reflection of oneself. Each visitor has the

The artist’s immersive Biennale installation at Campo della Tana transforms ages-old carpet traditions into a meditation on consciousness, quantum logic and the country's future. Azerbaijan seldom registers on the art world’s map; for many, it remains shrouded in mystery, a place whose traditions and symbologies have not yet been colonized by the collective imagination. Yet with the opening of this year’s Venice Biennale, the image it wanted to project with its national pavil

Gwendolyn Collaço from the John Hay Library curated an exhibition by Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed for the prestigious Venice Biennale art exhibition and festival in Italy. PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown University curator and scholar Gwendolyn Collaço knows firsthand why the Venice Biennale exhibition is known as the Olympics of the art world. “You really have to challenge yourself to create something that is engaging, thoughtful and original in a set amount of

Azerbaijan’s contribution to this year’s Venice Biennale is a stunning installation by Faig Ahmed. COVER Editor Lucy Upward takes a look at the installation and speaks to the artist. Stages for the global art scene do not come much more revered than the Venice Art Biennale. Azerbaijan has been appearing on that stage since 2007. A line-up of impressive installations, organised by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has repre

Faig Ahmed (b. 1982, Sumqayit, Azerbaijan) lives and works in Baku. He graduated from the Sculpture Department of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts in 2004. Ahmed represented Azerbaijan at the country's inaugural pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2007 and the Azerbaijan National Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia (2026) with the solo exhibition The Attention. Ahmed is internationally recognized for transforming the visual langu

Commissioner: Rashad Aslanov, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijian; Curator: Gwendolyn Collaço; Exhibitor: Faig Ahmed Venue: Campo della Tana, Castello 2124/A, Castello 2125 Faig Ahmed’s The Attention confronts a contemporary dilemma: how to find meaning in the chaos of information overload. By reimagining the medieval poetry of the mystic Nasimi, Ahmed wields cultural heritage to propose contemplation as a salve to social turbulence. His installations transmute

Textile artist Faig Ahmed has long transformed the traditional carpet into something alive. His woven works appear to melt, pixelate, dissolve, and spill across floors like liquid code, merging centuries-old Azerbaijani craftsmanship with the visual language of the digital age. Now, at the 61st edition of Venice Biennale, the artist pushes his practice into even more immersive territory with a monumental installation titled The Attention. Born in Sumqayit and based in Baku, A

Faig Ahmed Expands the Language of the Carpet Faig Ahmed has spent much of the last decade redefining what a carpet can be. Working from the visual traditions of Azerbaijani weaving, the Baku-based artist has become internationally recognized for textile sculptures that appear to melt, distort, and digitally glitch. His work often begins with patterns that seem familiar and historically grounded before unraveling into forms that challenge assumptions about craft, technology,

Faig Ahmed is renowned for his vibrant textile sculptures, which use traditional Azerbaijani ornamental carpets as their starting point. Often, these works seem to melt, pool, or glitch. Currently, at the 61st Venice Biennale, Ahmed is representing Azerbaijan with a solo exhibition titled The Attention. This installation explores themes of science, alchemy, spirituality, and self-perception in a sprawling, maze-like setup. Exploration of science and tradition Curator Gwendoly

Faig Ahmed is known for his vibrant textile sculptures that take traditional Azerbaijani ornamental carpets as starting point, often appearing to melt, pool, or glitch. In his current solo presentation at the 61st Venice Biennale, where he is representing Azerbaijan, the Baku-based artist branches out into more conceptual territory, exploring science, alchemy, spirituality, and perceptions of self in a sprawling, maze-like installation called The Attention. Curated by Gwendol

No protest, no political noise. These pavilions at the 2026 Biennale di Venezia show how, through crafts, art can hold a mirror to our most pressing concerns. Art, Architecture. When the late curator Koyo Kouoh invited participants of the 2026 Biennale di Venezia to step back from spectacle and embrace a more sensorial encounter with art, she couldn’t have imagined how turbulent the opening would become. Geopolitics and protests largely overshadowed art itself — yet Kouoh’s v

“Azerbaijan’s project "Attention", presented at this year’s Venice Biennale international art exhibition is fully consistent with the concept of the exhibition, enabling the visitors to experience the essence of a creative choice that is not only rooted in national identity, but also has a deep spiritual power,” Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, Venice Biennale President, told AZERTAC. Buttafuoco hailed Azerbaijan’s participation at the exhibition, underscoring the country’s contributi

Azerbaijan is showcasing its rich cultural identity and contemporary artistic vision at the Venice Biennale, one of the world's most prestigious art platforms. On May 7, the Azerbaijan pavilion officially opened at the International Art Exhibition – Venice Biennale, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, with support from the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Italy. Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the Azerbaijan pavilion is located at Camp

Comunicato stampa At this year's Venice Art Biennale, Azerbaijan presents The Attention, a solo exhibition of new works by Faig Ahmed, curated by Gwendolyn Collaço (currently at Brown University, formerly MIT and LACMA). Installed across seven interconnected rooms at Campo della Tana, near the Arsenale, the exhibition transforms the historic rope-making complex into an immersive environment that reimagines the traditional Azerbaijani carpet as a coded surface—bridging craft,

This year’s Venice Biennale coincides with both expansion and instability. New national voices are emerging, with Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and more staging exhibitions that reflect a changed global context. However, this sense of advancement finds its true meaning in the jury’s courageous stand. Their principled resignation in protest of countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court investigations represents not a disagreement but a powerf

The Venice Art Biennale returns for its 61st edition from May 9th to November 22nd, 2026, and designboom is here to guide you through this year’s main exhibition, national participations, collateral events, and everything unfolding across the city during the six-month event. Titled In Minor Keys, the 2026 International Art Exhibition was conceived by curator Koyo Kouoh, who developed the project before her passing in May 2025. The exhibition will be realized by the curatorial

On the occasion of the 61st International Art Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia, the Republic of Azerbaijan presents The Attention, a solo exhibition of new commissions by Faig Ahmed, curated by Gwendolyn Collaço. Known for his surreal textile interventions that disrupt and reconfigure traditional carpet-making, Ahmed presents a new body of large-scale, site-specific works that position craft within a broader inquiry into perception, cognition, and contemporary experience.

“ The Venice Biennale remains one of the few places where it is possible to speak freely about everything, on equal terms ” ArtReview sent a questionnaire to artists and curators exhibiting in and curating the various national pavilions of the 2026 Venice Biennale, the responses to which will be published daily in the leadup to and during the Venice Biennale, which runs from 9 May through 22 November. Faig Ahmed is representing Azerbaijan; the pavilion is in the Campo de l

Sede: Tanarte – Campo della Tana, Castello 2124/A, Castello 2125 Titolo della mostra: The Attention Commissario: Rashad Aslanov Ambasciatore Repubblica dell’Azerbaigian Curatore: Gwendolyn Collaço Espositore: Faig Ahmed BIENNALE ARTE 2026 – PADIGLIONE AZERBAIGIAN (Repubblica dell’) Alla Biennale Arte 2026 il Padiglione Azerbaigian presenta The Attention di Faig Ahmed nello spazio Tanarte, vicino all’Arsenale di Venezia. Design e arti visive Alla 61ª Esposizione Internazionale

Faig Ahmed has been selected to represent Azerbaijan at the 61st Venice Biennale. Entitled The Attention , the country’s pavilion will feature a solo representation of newly commissioned works by the artist. The exhibition will be curated by historian Gwendolyn Collaço and will take place at the Campo de la Tana in the Castello district of Venice. Ahmed will present a group of new site-specific works that will examine perception and systems of meaning through textile, sound