Onassis Culture at the 61st Venice Biennale

The Greek Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, from May 9 to November 22, 2026, transforms into a contemporary Platonic Cave.

Onassis Culture is a strategic supporter of Greece’s participation in the 61st International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, with the work “Escape Room” by Andreas Angelidakis, curated by George Bekirakis. The Greek Pavilion is transformed into a contemporary Platonic Cave. In the hands of Andreas Angelidakis, Plato’s allegory becomes a tool for exploring the present, a present in which the world of images is saturated with digital illusions and replicas. As an allegorical “Escape Room,” the Greek Pavilion reflects a reality that resembles a game, while on a symbolic level it embodies the paradox of a building attempting to escape its ‘self’ and, by extension, its history.

Regarding the composition and structure of the work, the artist notes that the Pavilion is divided into two distinct sections: “One resembles bouzoukia, and the other a kiosk selling souvenirs.” One part is entirely digital, framed by his signature ‘poof order columns,’ while the other follows an alla turca aesthetic.

Taking a closer look at the historical status of the Pavilion, Andreas Angelidakis highlights the ideological role of the Biennale’s National Pavilions: “The National Pavilions of the Giardini were designed to communicate the political beliefs of the governments that erected them at that particular historical moment. Each Pavilion constitutes a mechanism of truth—just like the mechanisms in the allegory of the Platonic cave.”

The realization of “Escape Room” and its presentation in Venice are primarily funded by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The National Commissioner is the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki (MOMus).

In the same spirit, the curator of the Greek Pavilion, George Bekirakis, focuses on how the work interprets history through the everyday and the lived experience: “Angelidakis traces historical developments in Greece and Italy through small stories and incidents connected to the space. The Pavilion becomes a capsule where historical versions of Greek identity are placed alongside its urban, lived expressions of it, reminding us of the tension between reality and cultural fixations.”

The work proposes an alternative reading of history as something not fixed but constantly open to negotiation. As the curator himself notes: “The ‘Escape Room’ is an invitation to view history not as a given, but as an open field of interpretations.”

The project draws its inspiration from the architecture of the Greek Pavilion itself in the Giardini, which was shaped by government interventions in the 1930s. Observing how it is differentiated from the other National Pavilions, which appear white and simplified, the Greek Pavilion stands out for its use of stone and arches, evoking ecclesiastical architecture.

The Artistic Director of the Onassis Foundation, Afroditi Panagiotakou, further expands the reflection on the notion of national representation, while raising the question of identity in today’s world: “I think there comes a time when we have to ask ourselves what national participation means. How do we participate nationally in this Biennale? How do we participate as individuals when we see ourselves represented through art in an international art gathering? And what does ‘national’ mean in an era when so many people invoke it, but actually mean ‘nationalist,’ when the extremes are no longer even considered as such and tend to become mainstream?”

Onassis Culture is once again supporting Greece’s participation in the Venice Biennale, remaining consistently by the artists’ side. This ongoing commitment began in 2015 and includes “Agrimiká. Why Look at Animals?” (2015), “Laboratory of Dilemmas” (2017), “Mr. Stigl” (2019), “Oedipus in Search of Colonus” (2022), and “Xiromero/Dryland” (2024).
Building on this longstanding support, the Onassis Foundation is present at this year’s 61st Venice Biennale through a series of significant works presented from May to November 2026, centered around Greece’s official participation: Andreas Angelidakis’s “Escape Room.”

In collaboration with Onassis Culture, Patti Smith and Soundwalk Collective presented the immersive, site-specific live performance “A Sonic Prayer with Patti Smith” at the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Nazareth, as part of the official opening of the Holy See Pavilion and the exhibition “The Ear is the Eye of the Soul.” Lasting approximately 30 minutes, the performance featured three works created especially for the exhibition. It also continues Patti Smith and Soundwalk Collective’s collaboration with Onassis Culture, following their two live performances on the Main Stage of Onassis Stegi in 2024.

Presented by the Dicastery for Culture and Education and curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers, the Holy See Pavilion brings together 25 artists, including FKA twigs, Brian Eno, Jim Jarmusch, Kali Malone, Dev Hynes, and Precious Okoyomon. The exhibition creates an experience of listening, contemplation, and “sonic prayer,” where art, spirituality, and human experience converge.

At the same time, the Onassis Collection participates in the main exhibition of the 61st Venice Biennale, “In Minor Keys,” curated by Koyo Kouoh, with two works by Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige: “Time Capsules, Eleonas (Athens x 3)” and “Zig Zag Over Time, Eleonas”. The two works by the Franco-Lebanese artists were previously presented in the exhibition “Unconformities” at the Acropolis Museum of Athens, as part of Onassis Stegi’s Fast Forward Festival, in May 2018. Both works bring traces of Athens’ Eleonas district to Venice and open a dialogue around memory, land, and the layers of a city.

Onassis Culture is also the co-producer of the new artwork of Janis Rafa, “Baby I’m Yours, Forever” (2026), which is featured in the exhibition "CANICULA" with eight new video installations, presented by the Fondazione In Between Art Film at the Complesso dell’Ospedaletto in Venice, on the occasion of the 2026 Venice Biennale. It is worth mentioning that Janis Rafa was an Onassis AiR Fellow during the during the 2023–2024 season. Rafa’s video installation, “Baby I’m Yours, Forever” (2026), marks the opening of the exhibition in the church of Santa Maria dei Derelitti and is conceived as an allegory of the idea of sacrifice.

Onassis Culture appears in Venice not merely as a sponsor, but as an active link within an international network of artists, producers, and collaborations—where contemporary art is once again testing the ways in which we listen, see, and connect.

Artist: Andreas Angelidakis
Curator: George Bekirakis
Strategic supporter: Onassis Culture

The implementation of the work “Escape Room” and its presentation in Venice are primarily funded by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The National Commissioner is the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki (MOMus).