Art Fund to bring work from the Venice Biennale to the UK
New commissions being presented at the 2026 Venice Biennale will come to the UK with Art Fund support. Here’s where to see work by Lubaina Himid, Manon Awst and Dylan Huw, and Bugarin + Castle.
Three landmark commissions by British artists showing at the 61st Venice Biennale (9 May – 22 November 2026) will come to the UK from 2026.
Developed for the world’s most influential contemporary art exhibition, the three supported presentations are:
Lubaina Himid, ‘Predicting History: Testing Translation’
The presentation will tour to:
The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry (12 February – 23 May 2027)
The MAC, Belfast (11 June – 22 August 2027)
Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea (24 September 2027 – 9 January 2028).
Commissioned by the British Council for the British Pavilion in 2026, Lubaina Himid’s Predicting History: Testing Translation explores the nature of belonging and how to make a home in the new place.
As well as supporting the tour of the exhibition, Art Fund’s support will enable a significant work from the presentation to enter the British Council collection.
Manon Awst and Dylan Huw, ‘Sownd’
Three parallel events will run in:
Cors Bodeilio, Anglesey (June 2026)
Cors Caron, Ceredigion (July 2026)
Cors Crymlyn, Swansea (September 2026)
Sownd is a collaborative sculptural installation exploring language and landscape, commissioned by Arts Council of Wales for the official Collateral Event Cymru yn Fenis/Wales in Venice and jointly led by Oriel Myrddin (Carmarthen) and Oriel Davies (Newtown).
Alongside the Venice presentation, Art Fund is supporting Sownd [ar safle / on site], a series of concurrent site-specific events in 2026 across the three Welsh peatland sites listed above. A mobile structure echoing the architecture of the Venice exhibition will be activated by the artists at each event alongside newly commissioned live work by artists including Eddie Ladd, Anushiye Yarnell, Becca Voelcker and Naomi Pearce.
Bugarin + Castle, ‘Shame Parade’
The exhibition will be presented at Mount Stuart on Bute in summer 2027, before touring to venues throughout the UK.
Curated by Mount Stuart Trust and commissioned by Scotland + Venice, Shame Parade is a multi-layered new project that uses the concept of the parade as a lens to explore complex emotional legacies of shame, pride and celebration.
Jenny Waldman, director of Art Fund, said: “From Belfast to the Welsh peatlands, from Coventry to the Isle of Bute, we are delighted once again to offer audiences across all four nations of the UK the opportunity to experience the remarkable works created by British artists for the Venice Biennale. And we are particularly delighted that Art Fund's support will help a significant work from Lubaina Himid's commission enter the British Council's public collection and inspire future generations across the UK and around the world.”
Art Fund has previously supported UK tours of Venice Biennale commissions by Sonia Boyce and Alberta Whittle and continues to support the tour of John Akomfrah’s Listening All Night To The Rain, opening next month at Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (16 May – 31 August).