The Alexandria Biennale, the world’s third oldest biennial after Venice and São Paulo, has announced its return in September 2026, under the title ‘This Too Shall Pass’.
Returning after a 12-year hiatus, the event’s 27th edition will be curated by Alexiandria-born artist Moataz Nasr. Its main programme will gather 55 artists from across the Mediterranean basin and will take place across various venues and historical sites across the city, among which the Roman amphitheatre, the Alexandria Library, the Qaitbay Citadel and locations along the fourth-century BC Fouad Street. A smaller exhibition focusing on emerging Egyptian artists will be hosted at Alexandria museums.
The Alexandria Biennale was established in 1955, under the country’s former president Gamal Abdel Nasser, with the aim to discover and spotlight regional talent. The event was suspended in 2011 amidst the Egyptian revolution. Its last edition took place in 2014, but the brief revival led to further hiatus under financial and logistical constraints.
Currently based in Cairo, Nasr represented Egypt at the Venice Biennale in 2017. From 2008 to 2024, he ran an independent space Darb1718 in Cairo and curated three editions of the capital’s off-biennial Something Else.
