I Baschi alla Biennale 1976/2026

This academic conference offers an exploration of the Basque Country’s role in the international context through culture, art and thought, focusing on the 1976 Venice Biennale. It brings together specialists who will analyse social trnasformations, artistic discourses, and forms of representation and identity, as well as the contemporary challenges facing Basque culture. Co-organised by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the Etxepare Basque Institute, in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country—Artium Museoa, through an academic committee formed by Monika Madinabeitia (Etxepare Basque Institute), Elena Roseras (Artium Museoa) and Miren Vadillo (University of the Basque Country). 

This initiative serves as a prelude to the seminar organized by lecturer Iñaki Alfaro within the framework of the Basque Programme (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the Etxepare Basque Institute). This seminar is scheduled to be hosted by the Biennale Sessions 2026 programme, held on the occasion of the 61^st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled In Minor Keys.

Simultaneous interpretation into Italian will be available. 

In 2026 fifty years have passed since the events that marked the Basque presence at the 1976 Venice Biennale. In the context of this anniversary, the Basque Museum of Contemporary Art—Artium Museoa presents a case study as part of a broader research and documentary project that revisits the episode. The project examines how, during the political transition after Franco’s death and the rise of democratic demands, Venice became a stage for international projection. The idea is not to reconstruct the episode linearly, but to revisit it from a contemporary perspective that considers both the conditions that made it possible and its contemporary resonances. With the benefit of hindsight, the 1976 Biennale can be understood less as an isolated event and more as a turning point in the consolidation of cultural frameworks and the formation of a collective imagination that continues to evolve to this day. 

In this regard, the presentation that Artium Museoa has put together at the Palazzo Contarini revisits the films that were screened on that occasion in Venice: Ama Lur (1968) by Néstor Basterretxea and Fernando Larruquert, Axut (1975) by Jose Mari Zabala, Arriluce (1971 – 1975) by José Ángel Rebolledo, and …ere erera baleibu izik subua aruaren… (1968 – 1970) by José Antonio Sistiaga, as well as an audio fragment by the Artze brothers, which formed part of the musical and audiovisual show Ikimilikiliklik directed by Mikel Laboa.

Alongside these works are two paintings from the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country—Artium Museoa: Juicio de Burgos (manifestación) (1971) by Mari Puri Herrero and Dobla (2021) by Damaris Pan. 

In addition, the Palazzo Contarini will host the performances Irrintzi Repetición (2026) by artist Itziar Okariz and Tripak Tokitik (2026) by the Tripak collective.