Image: Pinacoteca Querini Stampalia, Venice
AFI-ILA is launching the ‘Afghanistan Pavilion 2028’ campaign to bring Afghan artists and cultural voices to the Venice Biennale 2028.
National pavilions are put forward by states, and under its current regime, Afghanistan has no state actor able to do so. Afghanistan has centuries of music, visual art, poetry, and craft.
The discussion takes place on 9 October 2026 at 6 pm at Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice. Participants include Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan; visual artist Jeanno Gaussi; artist and curator Yama Rahimi of the Freedom Canvas Initiative; curator Leeza Ahmady of the Asia Contemporary Art Forum; and curator Jonathan Watkins.
The project is led by Artistic Freedom Initiative and Initiative pour la Liberté Artistique, in partnership with Freedom Canvas Initiative.
