Timor-Leste Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia 2026

03/09/2026

On August 30, we hosted the official book signing and launch of Across Words: An Anthology at SEA Junction in Bangkok. Thank you so much to our wonderful audience for your presence and engaging questions! We were thrilled by the strong interest in the history of Timor-Leste, the concept behind our Pavilion, and the contents of our publication.

Featured in these photos are Pavilion Curator Loredana Pazzini Paracciani and Researcher Pojai Akratanakul during their presentation, alongside our beautiful book on shelves across Bangkok. A huge shoutout to Hardcover: The Art Book Shop for their fabulous display!

Across Words is now available in Bangkok at:
• SEA Junction
• BACC Bookstore
• Art Book Store at Open House (Central Embassy)
• Jim Thompson Art Center

For our readers in Europe, the book is distributed by Mousse Magazine & Publishing through several channels, including Mondadori and Feltrinelli and at the ELECTA shops at the Venice Biennale 🙏

27/08/2026

Join us SEA Junction for the Thailand launch of Across Words: An Anthology, the first-ever comprehensive reference book dedicated to Timor-Leste’s contemporary art and culture ✨

First unveiled in May at the 2026 Venice Biennale for the Timor-Leste Pavilion, the volume now makes its Southeast Asian debut in Bangkok. With Thailand’s thriving art landscape and growing connections with Timorese artists, Bangkok serves as the ideal hub for the book’s regional distribution.

During the event, pavilion curator Loredana Pazzini Paracciani and researcher Pojai Akratanakul will lead an engaging, behind-the-scenes discussion on the when, why, and what of building a landmark pavilion publication and bridging Timor-Leste with the broader Southeast Asian art scene.

For those looking to grab a copy, Across Words is available locally in Thailand at :
~ Sea Junction at BACC
~ baccshop BACC & Library
~ The Jim Thompson Art Center
~ Hardcover: The Art Book Shop, Open Space at Central Embassy.

A special thanks to Sea Junction for hosting us for this exciting milestone 🙏

24/08/2026

We made it to the Hyperallergic shortlist and we are very proud! We have been selected for several shortlists since we opened the pavilion back in May, namely in , , and more—you can check our previous posts for more info.

This shortlist came as an unexpected surprise, making it all the more special! We truly appreciate the time each and every one of you spends at the pavilion. Whether you are a student, a journalist, a curator, or a scholar, thank you for your interest ✨

Special thanks to writer for including us here!

Across Words runs through November 22, 2026
📍 Arsenale, Venezia

19/08/2026

Treasure them ❤️ During the preview days (May 5–8), we had the pleasure of gifting hundreds of
visitors our iconic Tais bags. Word spread so quickly that many came by just to catch a glimpse of their beauty — all different, all hand made ! Since May, the bags have also been distributed at the Biennale shop at both the Giardini and Arsenale to share them with as many people as possible.

As with all good things, we have now run out of these iconic bags. If you are one of the lucky holders, treasure yours! They are a true symbol of beauty, labor, love, and tradition.

What makes Tais so special? Tais are intricate handwoven textiles created in Timor-Leste by extraordinary women—the true keepers of this cultural knowledge. Through specific symbols and patterns woven directly into the fabric, Tais have formed a rich, visual alphabet of communication since time immemorial.

We at Across Words are deeply proud to have collaborated with the Alola Esperança Foundation—a pioneering organization dedicated to supporting weaving communities across Timor-Leste through women’s economic empowerment programs—to produce these Tais bags. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the
weavers who created so much beauty and history for this project.

In these photos, our team was excited to receive them at the pavilion, as well as ongoing research trips to the weaving community in Lospalos, located in the easternmost region of Timor-Leste 🇹🇱

Each iconic bag was made for you with love and dedication. Enjoy it ❤️

15/08/2026

Thank you Público for the feature !

Across Words
Thru November 22
📍Arsenale
La Biennale di Venezia

À segunda participação na Bienal de Veneza, Timor-Leste volta a surpreender. A exposição Across Words reúne obras de três artistas de diferentes gerações e disciplinas, todos autodidactas.

12/08/2026

🎉The past week was very meaningful for Across Words as the Pavilion reached the 100,000 visitors milestone !

Concurrently, and by way of celebrating this important step, 2 outstanding reviews on Timor-Leste Pavilion Across Words were released on different international platforms :

Público article by Mariana Duarte
Art World Database article by Alessandra Dias

Full links in bio 🔗

Thank you all for the support 🙏

Across Words thru Nov 22
Artiglierie , Arsenale di Venezia 📍

10/08/2026

Thank you AWDB for the feature 🎉

Stay tuned for more 👀

Across Words thru Nov 22
Artiglierie , Arsenale di Venezia 📍

Situated between Australia and Indonesia, Timor-Leste is Southeast Asia’s youngest country and a recent entrant to ASEAN, joining on October 26, 2025. With a population of just over 1.4 million, its debut at the 60th Venice Art Biennale in 2024 - with the national pavilion represented by Maria Mad...

05/08/2026

Artworks Part I

Verónica Pereira Maia (b. 1933, Fohorem, Covalima, Timor-Leste. Lives in Darwin, Australia) is an artist and an activist best known for her exceptional contribution to the traditional Timorese art of tais weaving. Forced to flee Timor-Leste in 1975 during the Indonesian military occupation, she moved to Portugal before settling in Darwin, Australia. It was during her exile in Darwin that she produced Tais Don—the seminal textile installation featured in Across Words—created over five years on a backstrap loom between 1994 and 1999.

Tais are intricate textiles hand-woven by women. Specific symbols, colors, and patterns in tais are an essential form of visual communication. Uniquely in the history of tais each textile in Tais Don is inscribed with names commemorating the 271 victims of the 12 November 1991 massacre at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili. These names are separated by cruciform motifs, referencing the symbolic language of forms typical of tais weaving. Yet, the alphabet in Tais Don is an approximation: illiterate herself, Pereira Maia created the piece through visual adaptation—mediating oral knowledge, written language, and cultural resilience into material form. In this regard, Tais Don is a forerunner of conceptual art in Timor-Leste; it is less an object of aesthetic contemplation than a site of meaning where multiple layers of interpretation converge.

We are deeply honored to have this work at the heart of the Pavilion, shown in Europe for the first time at Across Words , 61st La Biennale di Venezia.

Pictures
1 Veronica Pereira Maia handing over Tais Don to Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao to be exhibited at Across Words, Timor-Leste Pavilion, 2026
2 - 5 Tais Don, 1994–1999, Tais textile, cotton threads, natural dyes. Five pieces; 64 x 281 cm; 58 x 274 cm; 66 x 276 cm; 61 x 271 cm; 43 x 276 cm.

Across Words remains open through 22 November 2026.
📍 Arsenale, Artiglierie, Venice — link in bio.

17/07/2026

🎙️ Two months in — and we are still speechless.

As Across Words reaches its second month at the 61st La Biennale di Venezia, we wanted to share something we have been holding close — an unreleased interview with our curator Loredana Pazzini Paracciani, filmed inside the pavilion in the days surrounding our opening.

In her own words, she reflects on the vision behind Across Words, the artists, and what it means to bring the voice of Timor-Leste to the Arsenale for the very first time.

Two months ago we opened these doors not knowing what to expect. What followed has been extraordinary — thousands of visitors, international press, and a response from the public that has moved our entire team deeply. To every single person who has walked through, shared, written about, and supported Across Words — thank you. You have made this pavilion come alive in ways we never imagined. 🙏

Across Words remains open through 22 November 2026.
📍 Arsenale, Artiglierie, Venice — link in bio.

01/07/2026

✨ Official image selected for the media! ✨

A huge nod to our incredible artists and curator who have been featured and interviewed by several leading art and lifestyle magazines discussing "Across Words", the Timor-Leste Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2026.

Here is a roundup of the latest press highlights:

- Juventino Madeira shares an exclusive interview with Art & Market, discussing his creative process and the journey behind making his works for the pavilion.
- Curator Loredana Pazzini-Paracciani has been featured in several international publications—including The Straits Times, South China Morning Post, and ArtAsiaPacific—as well as major Italian papers like Io Donna (Corriere della Sera), Il Sole 24 Ore, and Libero, delving into the curatorial framework of the show. You can also catch her full interviews on CIMAM Who’s Who, ADBW, and more.
- Etson Caminha speaks passionately about the pavilion's works on RTTL World News Timor-Leste, featuring an in-depth interview with all three pavilion artists, including our legendary nonagenarian, Verónica Pereira Maia.

Stay tuned for more upcoming reviews and exciting updates! 🇹🇱✨