Gwangju Biennale taps Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen to lead 2026 edition

Singaporean artist and filmmaker Ho Tzu Nyen has been appointed as the artistic director of the 2026 Gwangju Biennale. Courtesy of Singapore Art Museum

The Gwangju Biennale has appointed Singaporean artist and filmmaker Ho Tzu Nyen as the artistic director of its 16th edition, slated for September 2026.

Ho is best known for his multidisciplinary practice, which incisively probes the layered histories, mythologies and philosophical undercurrents shaping postcolonial Asia.

His distinctive voice has taken him to major biennales and exhibitions around the world, including Gwangju’s 2018 edition “Imagined Borders” and its 2021 iteration “Minds Rising, Spirits Tuning,” as well as the 2014 Shanghai Biennale and the 2019 Sharjah Biennial. He also represented the Singapore Pavilion at the 2011 Venice Biennale.

As a curator, he co-led the 2019 Asian Art Biennale in Taiwan under the theme “The Strangers from Beyond the Mountain and the Sea.”

In Seoul, the artist’s mid-career survey, “Time & the Cloud,” was staged at Art Sonje Center in 2024.

“It’s a dream come true to return to Gwangju, not as an artist but as artistic director,” Ho remarked in a statement.

“The [upcoming] edition will bring together the energies, propositions, practices and ideas that have inspired and propelled me over the past two decades. It will be an opportunity to explore how the practice of artistic transformation resonates with Gwangju’s legacy of democratic change.”

The 2026 Gwangju Biennale’s theme will accordingly focus on collective creative strategies and solidarities that confront the pressing crises of our time — from the erosion of democratic values to the escalating climate emergency.

“Under the direction of Ho, who is deeply attuned to the cultural diversity of Asia, this edition will offer a renewed perspective on the Biennale, both globally and within its regional context,” said Lee Sang-gap, acting president of the biennale’s foundation.