EL SALVADOR MAKES ITS DEBUT AT THE VENICE BIENNALE WITH ITS OWN PAVILION

El Salvador will participate for the first time with its own pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition, titled Cartographies of Displacement, features the work of J. Oscar Molina (El Salvador, 1971), curated by Alejandra Cabezas and commissioned by Dr. Astrid Bahamond. From May 9 to November 22, it will be on view at Palazzo Mora, which each edition hosts national pavilions and international projects outside the official venues of the Giardini and the Arsenale.

The sculptural series Children of the World is at the heart of the exhibition. The figures, which Molina began working on in 2019, are elongated and faceless, of monumental scale. They are images of the migrant experience — a tribute to displaced communities and the global diaspora. The sculptures probe the ontological condition and the uncertainties of crossing borders.

“Displacement is often understood as a rupture tied to a single moment: the departure, the loss, the crossing. Children of the World proposes a different reading. In J. Oscar Molina’s sculptural practice, displacement unfolds as a sustained condition —one that reshapes how bodies relate to space, memory, and time long after movement has occurred. The works gathered here do not document journeys; they materialize what remains,” said Cabezas.

"Being a Salvadoran-American artist in Venice is an honor, but also a responsibility. I carry with me the stories of my people and the interconnected struggles of the world's displaced communities," Molina stated, as reported by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of El Salvador.

The Salvadoran artist grew up in the Gulf of Fonseca region during the civil war, surrounded by conflict and displacement. He emigrated to the United States at a very young age. His multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, painting, installation, and public art. His work, which addresses themes such as diaspora, memory, and belonging, reflects not only his personal experience but also a collective history.

Although the country had previously participated as part of the Italo-Latin American Institute (IILA), this will mark El Salvador's official debut with its own pavilion.