New work by artist Miet Warlop will be on display in the Belgian pavilion at the Venice Biennale in May 2026.
The new performance is entitled ‘It never SSST’ and is realized with the support of KANAL-Centre Pompidou, Morpho Antwerp through the curator Caroline Dumalin and with the support of the Flemish Government. It will be shown in KANAL in 2027.
IT NEVER SSST is a musical and living sculpture that is being rebuilt every day around the physical process of supporting. For her first large-scale performance exhibition in the Belgian Pavilion Miet Warlop unites performers and the international flow of people at the biennale around a central area of tension: the pursuit of human connection in a world that is always ‘on’.
‘With this contribution to the Belgian pavilion, we are providing Flemish top work in a top international location. We are also looking forward in particular to collaborating with Luxembourg and Austria, which, with Aline Bouvy and Florentina Holzinger, who both live in Brussels, are also opting for an interpretation on the borderline between the visual and the performative.’
Minister Caroline Gennez on the selection for the Belgian pavilion
Kasia Redzisz, Artistic Director of Kanal-Centre Pompidou says: “I am immensely proud that Kanal is supporting Miet Warlop and the Belgian Pavilion for the Biennale Arte 2026. Her proposal embodies the experimental spirit and bold thinking that isessential to today’s contemporary art. Our long-standing collaboration reflects Kanal’s commitment to interdisciplinarity and to supporting artists at watershed moments in their careers. I am grateful to the artist, the curator and the jury for their confidence in Kanal. We cannot wait to see the impact of the work at the Biennale and look forward to hosting the project in Brussels in 2027.”
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Venue : 61st International Art Exhibition –La Biennale di Venezia
Belgian Pavilion: Giardini della Biennale Sestiere Castello, 30122 Venice
Dates:
Preview of the Biennale Arte: May 6–8, 2026
Official opening of the Belgian Pavilion: May 6, 2026, 12:00
Opening party of the Belgian & Luxembourg Pavilions: May 7, 2026, 19:00–00:00
Exhibition times: May 9–November 22, 2026, Tue–Sun
Performance times: Tue–Wed & Fri–Sat, throughout the day:
May: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16 (to be confirmed: 19, 20, 22, 23)
June: 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27
July: 21, 22, 24, 25
August: (to be confirmed: 18, 19, 21, 22)
September: 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19
October: 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24
November: 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22
The exhibition remains visible during the regular opening hours of the Biennale, even when no performance is taking place. Following Venice, the project travels to Kanal-Centre Pompidou in March 2027
WEBSITES
www.belgianpavilion.be was jointly established by the Flemish Community and the Fédération Wallonie–Bruxelles to promote all projects by Belgian artists in Venice across successive editions of the International Art and Architecture Biennales.
www.itneverssst.be was designed by the project team as a dynamic platform for the exhibition performance—a space where the life of IT NEVER SSSTwill unfold digitally through video clips shared over the seven months of the Biennale.
Follow us also on the brandnew @belgianpavilionvenice.
An exhibition-performance by Miet Warlop
TEAM
Curator: Caroline Dumalin (MORPHO)
Performers: Wietse Tanghe, Melvin Slabbinck, Rahmat Emonds, Lisa Sieni, Giulia Longoni, Rita Brancato, Alice Marchiori, Oscar Claus, Thybaud Monterisi
Sculptors: Riccardo Barichella, Martina Barresi, Giulio Bertacchini, Andrea Bortolotto, Leonardo Costerman, Riccardo Feltrin, Desirè Marcato, Francesco Mazzolin, Nicole Racchi, Anna Velludo, Filippo Zussa
Music: Miet Warlop, Micha Volders, Oscar Claus, Rahmat Emonds, Melvin Slabbinck, Wietse Tanghe
Costumes: Carol Piron (TOMBOY)
Project Manager and Artistic Consultation: Guy Gypens(Head of Live Arts, Kanal–Centre Pompidou)
Production Presentation: Kwinten Lavigne
Production Managers: Polina Filimonova, Rossana Miele
Sculptural Production: Barbara Vackier
Sculptural Engineering: Mattis Clement
Dramaturgical Consultant: Giacomo Bisordi
Choreographic Consultant: Nathan Ooms
Pavilion Coordinator: Giulio Piovesan
Production Performance (Kanal): Luna Riche
Technicians: Axel De Marteau, Brice Muylle, Cédrik Toselli(Kanal)
Engineer-Architect: Alessandro Zorzetto
Artist’s Assistant: Ginger Bogaert
Assistant Curator: Darly Benneker
Communication: Marie-Julie Dellaert, Dieter Vanthournout(Kanal)
Graphic Design: Sophie Keij
Graphic Assistance: Felipe Minicucci, Laure Azizi, Aaron Neubauer
Web Development: Joel Galvez, Dominique Callewaert
Press: Serenai/Nakami (Belgium), Sam Talbot (International), David Salomonowicz (Kanal)
Fundraising: Martin Bailly (Kanal), Laure Decock (RendezVous), Frederick Gordts
Administration: Lize Meynaerts, Claïs Lemmens Boon, Ingrid Van Samang (MORPHO)
Production Interns/Volunteers: Juli Bierich, Noor Flamey, Hannah Lefever, Viktor Van Hoof
Sculptural Assistance/Student Workshop: Margot Ally, Sarah-Lisa Bobelyn, Nora Bundervoet, Clémence Cedent, Maya De Block, Ibe De Cat, Mien De Ganck, Nausika De Nil, Ruben De Raeymaekers, Arend De Smedt, Lou De Smedt, Noona Deleu, Jean Descamps, Yael Grunwald, Olivia Leman, Lina van Lieshout, Iluna Nifri, Viona Notte, Elisa Palm, Marianne Van Caekenberghe, Merel Van den Eynde, Maya Van Renterghem, Nel Vanlauwe, Thor Verhoeven, Benjamin Vermoeven, Fran Weymiens
SUPPORTERS
A project by the Flemish Community
Commissioner: Caroline Gennez, Flemish Minister for Welfare and Poverty Reduction, Culture and Equal Opportunities
ORGANISATION
Department of Culture, Youth and Media
Coordination: Andy Vandervoort,Stan Van Pelt, Robert Michel
Jury: Heidi Ballet, Bert De Leenheer, Zoë Gray, Laura Hanssens, Ivo Provoost, Stéphane Symons, Pieternel Vermoortel, Bert Schreurs (chairman)
Institutional Partners: MORPHO, Kanal-Centre Pompidou, Miet Warlop/Irene Wool, KASK & ArBA-EsA (Young Curators Programme)
Main Partners: Loterie Nationale Loterij, Proximus Art Collection, ING Art Collection
Partners: Bodies in Space, TheMerode, Vandecasteele Houtimport
Friends of the Belgian Pavilion 2026: Art Brussels, KU Leuven, MOBULL, National Bank of Belgium, Zeno X Gallery –Frank & Eliane Demaegd-Breynaert, Dries Criel & Valérie Maselis, Marc Vandecandelaere, and all those who wish to remain anonymous
Young Curators Programme, an education and mediation programme for Belgian emerging curators
Fellows: Maartje Claes, Natalija Gucheva, Anna Laganovska, Claris Ramnoux, Eline Ringhausen, Carla RobinCoordinator: Laila Melchior
Jury: Caroline Dumalin, Antoinette Jattiot, Eliel Jones, Laila Melchior
Institutional Partners: Curatorial Studies, KASK & Conservatorium –School of Arts HOGENT Howest: Laura Herman, Isabel Van Bos, Dries De Wit, Herlinde van Langenhove Master en Pratiques de l’Exposition (CARE), Académie royale des Beaux-Arts: Christine Bluard, Aurélie Gravelat, Dana Trama
With the support of:
Flemish Community: Stan Van Pelt, Robert Michel
Wallonia-Brussels Federation: Max Godefroid, Pascale Viscardy Bureau International de la Jeunesse: Laurence Hermand, Marie-Sophie Wéry
In collaboration with:
MORPHO, Kanal-Centre Pompidou, Scuola Piccola ZattereWith
Special thanks to:
Petra Van Brabandt, Kasia Redzisz, Stefaan Willems, Marlies De Munck, Dirk De Wit, Saskia Liénard, John Zwaenepoel, Irene Calderoni
