IT

On the occasion of the opening of the Biennale Arte 2026, Bana Kattan spoke to us about “Washwasha”, the project she curated for the United Arab Emirates Pavilion. Starting from the sonic geographies that shape the exhibition, the conversation explores the reflections that informed its development, situated within the framework of “In Minor Keys” ‒ the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia curated by Koyo Kouoh ‒ as a space for listening and critical reflection. The discussion then extends to the foundations of her curatorial practice, which focuses on horizontal forms of collaboration and on connecting practices, subjectivities, and transnational cultural contexts.

Originally from Bethlehem, Palestine, and born in Abu Dhabi, Bana Kattan is a curator and researcher active between the United Arab Emirates and the United States. Appointed Curator and Associate Head of Exhibitions at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project, she has curated numerous exhibitions at international institutions, including the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Framing her work as an active field of research aimed at constructing perspectives that diverge from dominant narratives, she investigates the connections between multiple forms of belonging and the historical, social, and political dimensions that have shaped their identities, creating a continuous network of relations between local contexts and global dynamics. Addressed to what is referred to as the “global majority,” she develops exhibition projects that bring different generations of artists and their practices into dialogue, while maintaining a constant focus on creating spaces for collective exchange.

For the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia ‒ In Minor Keys, you curated the UAE Pavilion with the exhibition Washwasha. The title ‒ the Arabic word for “whispering” ‒ evokes subtle sounds and soft voices, resonating closely with the Biennale’s theme, which invites visitors to re-attune to emotional, intimate, and communal frequencies of life. This direction seems deeply aligned with your curatorial research, which engages with non-hegemonic forms of narration and plural, often marginalised or displaced subjectivities. In what ways did your approach engage with the Biennale’s overarching theme, and what path did you follow to translate it into the Pavilion’s project?
So I actually started working on this show before the theme was announced, and I can’t tell you how lucky I felt that the Biennale’s theme was so well connected to the show. There is a quote that Koyo said in the first press release about tuning into the minor keys and looking for the fragments and I wrote that quote down; I didn’t want to miss it. I wrote it down on a post-it, put it next to my computer, and I kept looking at it as I was thinking about the show. A really important connection, to me, has been thinking about gathering spaces and especially sonic gathering spaces, that resulted in Naiman, the bathhouse by Jawad Al Malhi representing a place of shared memories and collected oral histories. I reflected a lot on the importance of the places where we gather and where people talk, and this can also be seen in the work of Lamya Gargash who did the Majlis series.

Sound plays a central role in Washwasha. Prioritising the sonic over the visual carries an invitation to listening and proximity, creating intangible connections and communal exchanges. Is this direction a curatorial choice that interprets In Minor Keys, or is it the expression of a more intrinsic identity of the United Arab Emirates?
I think it’s both: I really wanted to show a part of the UAE arts scene, so not all of the artists are Emirati but they all are connected to and an important part of the UAE arts scene. Also within the UAE, as within every country, it is not possible to be one thing. It’s much more interesting than just being one thing. And I think this is well shown through the multiplicity of voices that are coming out of this exhibition. So yes, I think the sonic element actually works on many levels and at the same time it is something that really connects the UAE into one shared place.

THE NATIONAL PAVILION UAE CURATED BY BANA KATTAN

In your work, research plays a fundamental role in reconstructing and highlighting relational constellations, weaving together diasporic and transnational identities. From this perspective, how do you engage with the rigidity of a national pavilion in a framework that historically implies an idea of identity and culture tied to rigid territorial boundaries?
Your questions are so nice, thank you! You clearly care and understood the show. I think sound is a nice way to think about it because you can’t contain sound into a border, it just goes. This is not a sound show, but it starts with sound: the whole point is in this sonic element and in its connection to intangible culture. Then, once you start thinking in that way, movement and migration become a central part of the exhibition.

You have described the exhibition at the National Pavilion UAE as an “artist-led exhibition,” and your work reflects a clear intention to build relationships that move away from vertical structures. In pursuing a model of horizontal and collaborative curating, how do you orient your work to create an ecosystem of collective growth and ongoing research?
To me, just thinking about being artist-centric and artist-led is the right way of thinking about the curatorial experience in general. I have found that the best exhibitions that I have done, and that my colleagues have done, have placed this at the center. Another important aspect is to create an exhibition theme that is open enough. Washwasha’s theme allowed each of the six artists to take different routes: some of them spoke about oral histories, others spoke about language, and still others about anxiety ‒ considering the washwasha in someone’s mind or the washwasha of technology. In my opinion, what allows that to happen is to give support and autonomy to the artist.

Building on your professional experience at the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, you have actively engaged with the local context while fostering dialogue between different generations of artists. In your view, does the rapid institutionalisation currently taking place in the United Arab Emirates pose any risks for the local art scene?
I think that the UAE arts scene is very ready, it’s been ready for some time and there are already wonderful art institutions. I think in Abu Dhabi alone I can list five amazing institutions that have been doing great work. There’s even a museum, the Al Ain Museum, which is part of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, that opened in 1971, before the formation of the UAE. So, we have a long history of museums and I think we definitely have room for more!

I was also thinking about the increasing western interest on the region…
Yeah, exactly. There is an exhibition that I co-curated while I was at the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery with Maya Allison ‒ director and the chief curator of the NYUAD Art Gallery ‒ that was called But We Cannot See Them and it involved a group of UAE artists that were active from 1988–2008. The title was based on a poem by Nujoom Al Ghanem, one of the artists in the show, and we titled it in that way because we were a little bit bored of people in the West saying that we don’t have contemporary art or contemporary artists. I think this is a conversation that we can do through our work, beyond just talking about it, but actually doing it.

THE CURATORIAL PRACTICE ACCORDING TO BANA KATTAN

Staying on the theme of the relationship between institutions and cultural identity, and in connection with your appointment as Curator and Associate Head of Exhibitions at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project, how are you positioning your practice within a museum with a Western framework in order to give resonance to regional art?
One of the main geographical mandates of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is West Asia and that will be the primary focus of the museum. I’m really excited to be part of a museum with such a wonderful collection ‒ they have been collecting since 2005 ‒ and I am so happy to contribute to bringing that West Asia focus within the Guggenheim constellation. 

In your career, you have curated exhibitions in very different contexts: at the NYU Art Gallery in Abu Dhabi, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and now at the Venice Biennale. Has this diversity influenced your curatorial choices both practically and conceptually, as well as in terms of different forms of public engagement?
I think that one of the most important things for me as a curator is to make sure that no matter where I’m doing an exhibition, the content should still be interesting in its original context. For example, in the context of the UAE National Pavilion, we selected an exhibition title and concept that begin from an Arabic word. Yet as an onomatopoeic term, Washwasha contains in its pronunciation the sound made when whispering, and can thus be understood by non-Arabic speakers. In this case, and in all of my exhibitions, it is important to me that the project engage first and foremost the audience coming from the context in which it originates, while at the same time remaining capable of speaking to everyone.

Curating ‒ as your work demonstrates ‒ is not merely an aesthetic practice, but also carries a profound ethical, social, and political dimension. In a time of extreme tension and fragmentation, how should the role and responsibility of the curator be redefined?
Thank you for this question, this is a really nice interview. We all see the world we are living in, and also we can see that the Venice Biennale this year is so different from any other year. In the spirit of Washwasha I just ask people to slow down and listen to communities, listen to the voices that have not been heard but should be heard. This is part of the curatorial premise. 

Alessia Leoni
https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2026/united-arab-emirates
https://nationalpavilionuae.org/art/2026/art-exhibition-2026/