61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion Exhibition
The Japan Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition has opened with Nash Arakawa's 'Grass Baby, Moon Baby' exhibition. Born from the artist's experience as a parent of twins, this exhibition invites visitors to experience 'care' for babies as symbols of the future, questioning the kind of world they will live in.
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- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 21:34
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The Japan Foundation (JF) is hosting the Japan Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, where Nash Arakawa's 'Grass Baby, Moon Baby' has finally opened. The preview (vernissage) began on May 6, ahead of the official opening on May 9. This press release provides a prompt update with images documenting the exhibition after the first day of the vernissage.
This exhibition is born from the parenting experience of Nash Arakawa, a queer artist who became a parent of twins in 2024. Starting from the artist's own identity as an Asian diaspora living in America, reflections on the history of their homeland, and personal parenting experiences, the Japan Pavilion is transformed into a space where visitors can experience the act of 'care' for babies, symbols of the future, while questioning the kind of world they will live in. In addition to Nash Arakawa, various collaborators transcending fields, countries, eras, and generations are participating in this exhibition.
Furthermore, it has been decided that this exhibition will tour Germany and Japan after its run. Please see below for details.
61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion
Nash Arakawa 'Grass Baby, Moon Baby' exhibition view (2026)
Photo: Uli Holz
Courtesy: The Japan Foundation
61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion
Nash Arakawa 'Grass Baby, Moon Baby' exhibition view (2026)
Photo: Uli Holz
Courtesy: The Japan Foundation
▼ Download official record images (12 points including exhibition views) here
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zEV26R7nMJ_sWDHSV-dqtCtAMEE9YwMj?usp=sharing
■ Joint Curators' Note
'Grass Baby, Moon Baby' was conceived at a time when the world's geopolitical order is undergoing significant change. The challenge of embedding 'Grass Baby, Moon Baby' within the reality of intensifying genocide and war, and the encroaching shadow of war on people's lives, I believe, led Nash Arakawa to re-examine their historical understanding and methodology of constantly decentering their own subjectivity. The exhibition at the Japan Pavilion, commemorating its 70th anniversary, became a place where Nash Arakawa, who grew up receiving peace education in post-war Japan, moved to America in their early twenties, and became a parent of twins with a male partner in 2024, as a parent of children who will live in the future, deeply focused on their attitudes and emotions in the work, raising their voice softly yet surely, in chorus with the artists and curators of the neighboring Korean Pavilion and numerous other expressers. Within the Japan Pavilion exhibition, visitors participate in the performance as caregivers for baby dolls, but at the same time, they are watched by 208 baby dolls. The audience reflected in the sunglasses of the baby dolls are also sternly questioned whether they are building a world where babies can live with peace of mind.
■ 61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion
https://venezia-biennale-japan.jpf.go.jp/j/
Period: May 9 (Sat) - November 22 (Sun), 2026
Venue: Japan Pavilion (within the Giardini area of the Biennale venue)
Artist: Nash Arakawa
Joint Curators: Mizuki Takahashi (Director/Chief Curator, CHAT Hong Kong), Risa Horikawa (Senior Curator/Head of Curatorial & Collections, National Gallery Singapore)
Organizer/Commissioner: The Japan Foundation
Special Grant: Ishibashi Foundation
Including works and collaborations by the following artists:
R. Kikou Johnson (Illustrator)
Isamu Noguchi
Yukari Ishii (Writer)
Reijiro Isumi (Tea Master, Tea Kettle History Researcher)
Korean Pavilion 2026 (Representing Artists: Choi Go-eun, Noh Hye-ri, Curator: Choi Binna)
Reiji Saito
Serge Tcherepnin (Composer)
Jae-Eun Choi (Artist)
Yuko Nakamura (Writer, Filmmaker) and Eiko Saeki (Sociologist)
FAC XTRA RETREAT (Nash Arakawa, Patty Chang, Pearl C. Hsiung, Amanda Ross-Ho, Ana Su Hooi, Shirley Tse, Amy Yao)
More Than Musical
Other Collaborations and Partnerships:
Miwako Arakawa and friends in Fukushima (baby clothes sewing)
Art Climate Collective Japan (NPO Arts Initiative Tokyo)
Ca' Foscari University, Department of Asian and North African Studies (DSAAM)
End of Summer
Pemaki (Architectural Design Office)
Daishiro Mori
This exhibition is born from the parenting experience of Nash Arakawa, a queer artist who became a parent of twins in 2024. Starting from the artist's own identity as an Asian diaspora living in America, reflections on the history of their homeland, and personal parenting experiences, the Japan Pavilion is transformed into a space where visitors can experience the act of 'care' for babies, symbols of the future, while questioning the kind of world they will live in. In addition to Nash Arakawa, various collaborators transcending fields, countries, eras, and generations are participating in this exhibition.
Furthermore, it has been decided that this exhibition will tour Germany and Japan after its run. Please see below for details.
61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion
Nash Arakawa 'Grass Baby, Moon Baby' exhibition view (2026)
Photo: Uli Holz
Courtesy: The Japan Foundation
61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion
Nash Arakawa 'Grass Baby, Moon Baby' exhibition view (2026)
Photo: Uli Holz
Courtesy: The Japan Foundation
▼ Download official record images (12 points including exhibition views) here
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zEV26R7nMJ_sWDHSV-dqtCtAMEE9YwMj?usp=sharing
■ Joint Curators' Note
'Grass Baby, Moon Baby' was conceived at a time when the world's geopolitical order is undergoing significant change. The challenge of embedding 'Grass Baby, Moon Baby' within the reality of intensifying genocide and war, and the encroaching shadow of war on people's lives, I believe, led Nash Arakawa to re-examine their historical understanding and methodology of constantly decentering their own subjectivity. The exhibition at the Japan Pavilion, commemorating its 70th anniversary, became a place where Nash Arakawa, who grew up receiving peace education in post-war Japan, moved to America in their early twenties, and became a parent of twins with a male partner in 2024, as a parent of children who will live in the future, deeply focused on their attitudes and emotions in the work, raising their voice softly yet surely, in chorus with the artists and curators of the neighboring Korean Pavilion and numerous other expressers. Within the Japan Pavilion exhibition, visitors participate in the performance as caregivers for baby dolls, but at the same time, they are watched by 208 baby dolls. The audience reflected in the sunglasses of the baby dolls are also sternly questioned whether they are building a world where babies can live with peace of mind.
■ 61st Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition Japan Pavilion
https://venezia-biennale-japan.jpf.go.jp/j/
Period: May 9 (Sat) - November 22 (Sun), 2026
Venue: Japan Pavilion (within the Giardini area of the Biennale venue)
Artist: Nash Arakawa
Joint Curators: Mizuki Takahashi (Director/Chief Curator, CHAT Hong Kong), Risa Horikawa (Senior Curator/Head of Curatorial & Collections, National Gallery Singapore)
Organizer/Commissioner: The Japan Foundation
Special Grant: Ishibashi Foundation
Including works and collaborations by the following artists:
R. Kikou Johnson (Illustrator)
Isamu Noguchi
Yukari Ishii (Writer)
Reijiro Isumi (Tea Master, Tea Kettle History Researcher)
Korean Pavilion 2026 (Representing Artists: Choi Go-eun, Noh Hye-ri, Curator: Choi Binna)
Reiji Saito
Serge Tcherepnin (Composer)
Jae-Eun Choi (Artist)
Yuko Nakamura (Writer, Filmmaker) and Eiko Saeki (Sociologist)
FAC XTRA RETREAT (Nash Arakawa, Patty Chang, Pearl C. Hsiung, Amanda Ross-Ho, Ana Su Hooi, Shirley Tse, Amy Yao)
More Than Musical
Other Collaborations and Partnerships:
Miwako Arakawa and friends in Fukushima (baby clothes sewing)
Art Climate Collective Japan (NPO Arts Initiative Tokyo)
Ca' Foscari University, Department of Asian and North African Studies (DSAAM)
End of Summer
Pemaki (Architectural Design Office)
Daishiro Mori