Senegal announces project by Caroline Gueye for 2026 Venice Biennale

Senegal’s Ministry of Culture, Crafts and Tourism announced that the country will participate in the 2026 Venice Biennale with a project by Senegalese artist Caroline Gueye.

The ministry said the installation, titled WURUS — Ce que la Terre nous offre, will be created specifically for the spaces of the Palazzo Navagero in Venice.

The project examines the metal gold, drawing connections between ancient uses of the material and its presence in modern technologies and daily life, according to the ministry’s press statement.

The installation will include brass and bronze polymer sculptures integrated into the architecture and a separate light-based installation visible from an adjacent space.

“Gold is older than the Earth itself, formed in the collision of neutron stars and carried to our planet by meteorites,” Gueye’s studio said in a separate news release. Gueye holds two master’s degrees in astrophysics and atomic physics.

“For centuries, this rare material has shaped economies, empires and imaginations, becoming one of the most enduring symbols of value — from the prosperity of the Mali Empire under Mansa Musa to the global systems that structure the contemporary world.”

The exhibition will unfold through a series of spatial situations in which some elements appear directly while others are revealed through openings, reflections or shifts in perspective. The ministry said the work invites visitors to adjust their position within the space and consider how perception changes with distance and movement.

Massamba Mbaye, described in the ministry’s statement as a major figure in Senegal’s cultural and artistic scene, is serving as curator of the project.

Gueye’s work has been presented internationally, including at KINDL – Center for Contemporary Art in Berlin, the FRAC Centre-Val de Loire in the French city of Orléans, and the Musée Théodore Monod in Dakar. She lives and works between Dakar and Europe.

Senegal will also be represented within the Venice Biennale through the selection of two artists, Seni Camara and Issa Samb, as part of a project organized by Raw Material Company.