Ei Arakawa-Nash with his twins. Photo: Ricardo Nagaoka
Last updated: May 2, 2026
한국어 안내는 영어 다음에 있습니다. / Korean follows English below.
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📎 Quick Links / 주요 링크
🌐 Japan Pavilion Official | 🌐 a5rkw.com | 📸 Instagram
📄 e-flux — Ei Arakawa-Nash to represent Japan | 📄 Japan Foundation Official
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The Japan Pavilion presents "Grass Babies, Moon Babies," a solo exhibition by Ei Arakawa-Nash (b.1977, Fukushima). Curated by Lisa Horikawa (National Gallery Singapore) and Mizuki Takahashi (CHAT, Hong Kong). This marks the Pavilion's 70th anniversary and the first edition led by a curatorial team based entirely outside Japan.
Ei Arakawa-Nash is a queer Japanese-American performance artist based in Los Angeles. Born in Fukushima in 1977, he became a U.S. citizen in 2019 and changed his name after marriage in 2023.
His practice reinterprets 20th-century performance styles including happenings, Gutai, Viennese Actionism, and Fluxus. He serves as director rather than traditional performance artist, deflecting attention from himself while creating collaborative, open-ended works.
For the Japan Pavilion, Arakawa-Nash will develop a new installation from his perspective as a queer parent, featuring performances by his newborn twins alongside baby dolls. The exhibition offers a sharp and humorous critique reflecting on LGBTQ communities and the Japanese diaspora.
Major exhibitions: Sculpture Project Münster (2017), 9th Berlin Biennale (2016), Whitney Biennial (2014), Carnegie International (2013), 55th Venice Biennale Georgia Pavilion (2013), MoMA (2012).
Lisa Horikawa: Senior Curator & Director of Curatorial and Collections, National Gallery Singapore
Mizuki Takahashi: Executive Director & Chief Curator, Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT), Hong Kong
For the first time in Venice Biennale history, the Korean and Japan Pavilions present a joint program. On Wednesday 6 May 2026, a joint celebration begins at 16:30 at the Korean Pavilion site, followed in the evening by a co-hosted reception by ARKO and the Japan Foundation at Compagnia della Vela on Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore (19:00–21:00 buffet; cocktails and DJ Shy Shonnie until 23:30). Dress code: festive attire.
Public access via Vaporetto Line 2 from S. Marco–S. Zaccaria "B" to S. Giorgio (one stop).