Bugarin + Castle

For the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2026, Bugarin + Castle are to represent Scotland, in a project curated by Mount Stuart Trust and commissioned by Scotland + Venice. Bugarin + Castle’s commission is a multi-layered new project that uses the concept of the parade as a lens to explore complex emotional legacies of shame, pride and celebration.

Drawing on queer histories, Scottish archives and Filipino cultural heritage, Bugarin + Castle’s project will examine how sound and costume shape social control. The artists’, Davide Bugarin and Angel Cohn Castle, interdisciplinary art practice traverses cabaret performance and architectural methodologies, driven by queer and decolonial research.

Mount Stuart Trust, based on the Isle of Bute, will curate the project, working with the artists and a series of partners including Forma, Dunoon Burgh Hall and BUZZCUT.

About the Exhibition

Davide Bugarin, Angel Cohn Castle and Morven Gregor at Mount Stuart. Photo by Charlotte Cullen, courtesy Scotland + Venice

Three people pose looking towards the camera, Davide is seated in the foreground wearing puffed yellow sleeves, knee length socks and black loafers; Morven to the left wears a black dress with pink floral applique and behind Angel stands wearing black and pink with a high colour and bright heart in the center of her chest. They are in a conservatory, with wooden window frames and terracotta tiled floor, surrounded by green leafy plants.

23 July 2025 — Commission Announcement

Bugarin + Castle to represent Scotland at La Biennale di Venezia in 2026

Davide Bugarin, Angel Cohn Castle and Morven Gregor at Mount Stuart. Photo by Charlotte Cullen, courtesy Scotland + Venice

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Credit: Lori Anderson

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Pictured: Entanglement is more than blood by Alberta Whittle. Credit: Neil Hanna Photography

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Image: Alberta Whittle, Lagareh – The Last Born, (film still – single channel video), 2022. Photographer Jaryd Niles-Morris, © Alberta Whittle. Courtesy the artist, Scotland+Venice, and Forma.

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