Amal Khalaf (UK/Bahrain) and Evelyn Simons (Belgium) have been appointed as co-artistic directors of the 2026 Busan Biennale, according to an announcement by the Busan Biennale Organizing Committee.
Selected from a pool of over 70 applicants worldwide during an open call held in May, the two curators bring significant international experience and distinct curatorial voices.
The jury highlighted their proposal under the tentative theme “Dissonant Chorus,” which explores collective memory, empathy, healing, resistance, and solidarity through sound, body, and water.
Khalaf, formerly a curator at Serpentine Gallery in London (2009–2022), is currently program director at Cubitt, an artist-run space in London. She co-curated the Bahrain Pavilion at the 2019 Venice Biennale and was part of the curatorial team for the 16th Sharjah Biennial.
Simons is an independent curator based in Brussels. She served as artistic director for visual arts and performance at Belgium’s Horst Arts & Music Festival from 2019 to 2023. She is currently curating These Branching Moments, an exhibition at the FOMU (Antwerp’s Museum of Photography) running through September.
The 2026 Busan Biennale is scheduled to open in August next year at the Busan Museum of Contemporary Art and other key local venues.
The exhibition is expected to present a multidisciplinary blend of site-specific installations, performance, and music that responds to the city’s unique context.
