Edouard Duval‑Carrié is about to take Little Haiti all the way to Venice. The Haitian‑born artist, whose studio in Miami’s Little Haiti has become a fixture for locals and visiting art‑world types alike, has been invited to present a new installation at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. His latest work gathers Vodou spirits, migration stories and the memory of Haiti’s revolution into a multi‑chambered pantheon designed for the Biennale’s main show, with Miami collectors, cultural groups and small foundations hustling this spring to cover shipping and production costs.
Official selection and curatorial frame
On the official roster of invited artists, Duval‑Carrié appears in the lineup for “In Minor Keys,” the 61st edition of the Biennale conceived by curator Koyo Kouoh. The selection places his practice in the centerpiece international exhibition, which unfolds across the Giardini, the Arsenale and satellite venues around the city. The show is scheduled to run from May 9 through Nov. 22, 2026, according to La Biennale di Venezia.
A Haitian presence in the main exhibition
Duval‑Carrié is one of two artists born in Haiti invited to the main exhibition, appearing alongside Manuel Mathieu. Their presence gives the sprawling show a distinctly Caribbean current on an already crowded international stage. The choice has reverberated in South Florida, where community members say Duval‑Carrié’s inclusion validates Miami as a key gathering place for Caribbean cultural life, as reported by the Miami Herald.
Fundraisers, previews and local backing
Back home, Miami stepped up. Institutions, individual patrons and neighborhood supporters helped raise money for Duval‑Carrié’s Venice outing, pitching in to cover the costly logistics of shipping and fabricating work for a European mega‑show. Oolite Arts lists Duval‑Carrié as a featured speaker in its Oolite Arts Conversations series and has been helping organize local programs tied to his Biennale appearance, according to Oolite Arts. The artist also opened his Little Haiti studio for a pre‑Venice preview so neighbors could see pieces that would not be making the trip to Italy, organizers told WLRN.
Memory, Vodou and the pantheon
Duval‑Carrié’s practice threads history, spirituality and diaspora into sculptural altars and luminous painted reliquaries that keep Haitian stories in circulation. “Haiti is all I am going to speak about,” he told the Miami Herald, a statement that doubles as both artistic mission and warning label. He previously took part in Haiti’s first national pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011, according to the Duke Forum for Scholars and Publics.
A painting that traveled — to the Olympics
One of Duval‑Carrié’s best‑known images, a dramatic painting of Toussaint Louverture on a red horse, galloped into a very different global arena. The work inspired Italian‑Haitian designer Stella Jean’s hand‑painted uniforms for Haiti’s athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee stepped in and required Louverture’s portrait to be removed from the opening‑ceremony design under rules against political symbols, though the striking red horse survived the edit, according to AP News.
What’s next for Miami
With the Biennale set to open this Saturday, Duval‑Carrié’s installation is poised to carry Little Haiti’s stories into Venice’s packed pavilions, even as his home base keeps the conversation going. Local events — including an Oolite Arts Conversations talk on June 25 — will give Miami audiences a chance to engage with the work from closer to home, according to Oolite Arts. Supporters say the moment underscores Miami’s growing role as a launchpad for Caribbean artists whose stories travel far beyond the city’s shores.
