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| Venice through a window inside the Giorgio Cini Foundation - Photo: Cat Bauer |
(Venice, Italy) The Queen of the Adriatic is ready to welcome visitors. In April, Venice will be the center of the cultural universe with the openings of both the Homo Faber Event and the 59th Biennale International Art Exhibition. Not only will visitors have the opportunity to witness some of the top contemporary artists and artisans on the planet, you will also wander through ancient venues so thick with history and mystery that you can almost reach through the ether and touch the phantoms of the past.
Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
The moment you step off the boat and onto the magical island of San Giorgio Maggiore, you sense adventure in the air. The island was inhabited in ancient Roman times and called Insula Memmia after the Memmo gens, a patrilineal clan who owned property on it. It was christened the Island of San Giorgio Maggio way back in the first half of the ninth century when the first church dedicated to Saint George was built.
In 982, Doge Tribuno Memmo granted the island to Abbot Giovanni Morosini to found a Benedictine monastery, which is still on San Giorgio to this very day. The island grew into a prosperous spiritual and economic base, and home to the ecclesiastical sons of Venetian nobility.
Throughout the centuries, and with the addition of some impressive architecture by Andrea Palladio and other masters, it swelled into a thriving center for international get-togethers. In 1951, Count Vittorio Cini transformed the island into a tribute to his son, Giorgio, who was killed in a plane crash, using his great wealth to create the Giorgio Cini Foundation and bring humanism back to mankind. The island has hosted kings, queens and heads of state -- twice it was the setting for the weighty G7 summit.
Homo Faber Event
Crafting a more human future
Homo Faber Event
Crafting a more human future
Living Treasures of Europe and Japan
April 10 to May 1, 2022
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| Island of San Giorgio Maggiore - Photo: courtesy Giorgio Cini Foundation |
Homo Faber 2022 celebrates Japan's National Living Treasures and its rich traditional heritage throughout the grounds of the Giorgio Cini Foundation. Fifteen exhibition spaces feature 12 top craftspeople from Japan who have earned the prestigious designation of "National Living Treasures."
Organized by the Michelangelo Foundation for Craftsmanship and Creativity, the international Homo Faber Event is a major cultural exhibition dedicated to master craftspeople and their work. The second edition of the Homo Faber Event opens a portal into the vibrant cultural collaboration between Europe and Japan. It's an immersive experience dedicated to virtuoso master artisans and exceptional emerging craftspeople.
You'll witness a spectrum of designers, curators and artisans imprint a human touch across a rainbow of sectors -- from jewelry to automotive, fashion to flowers, porcelain to glass, theater to interior design, and much, much more. Over 400 unique works drafted by over 350 designers and artisans from over 30 countries will be on display throughout the magnificent Giorgio Cini Foundation and its grounds.
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| Blossoming Beauty - Venini glass at Homo Faber 2022 |
I wrote an inspired post after attending the first Homo Faber Event in 2018, along with 62,500 other people, which you can read here:
In addition to the event on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, this year there will also be a self-guided tour called "In Città" throughout the labyrinthine calli and campi of the historic center of Venice itself. I love this idea! That means you can meet face to face the artisans who keep this city afloat by building their work on a solid foundation of ancient traditions. You can meet the soul of Venice itself.
You will be able to go digital and discover over 60 Venetian artisans, ateliers, museums and galleries by using the Homo Faber website or app. You can create your own tour or follow a suggested itinerary and be able to witness in person the craftspeople of Venice.
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| Venezia su misura - Photo: Cat Bauer |
At the press conference headed by the dynamic Alberto Cavalli, the Executive Director of the Michelangelo Foundation and general curator of Homo Faber, we were gifted with copies of a golden shopping guide called Venezia su misura, or Venice, Made to Measure. For those of us who still appreciate fine print, the beautiful guidebook is published by Gruppo Editoriale in both English and Italian, and contains descriptive passages of select Venetian artisans and their work as well as a fold-out map in the back. If you are are fortunate enough to attend Homo Faber in person, you will be able to purchase a copy in the bookshop.
Visit the Homo Faber website for lots more information and to book your tickets.
La Biennale di Venezia
59th International Art Exhibition
La Biennale di Venezia
59th International Art Exhibition
The Milk of Dreams
April 23 to November 27, 2022
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| Jane Graverl, L'Ecole de la Vanité, 1967 - screenshot |
On April 20, 21 and 22, smack in the middle of the Homo Faber Event, is the pre-opening of the 59th La Biennale International Art Exhibition, three days allotted to accredited visitors before the opening to the general public on April 23. Can you imagine such a thing? Venice will be galvanized by visiting adventurers following itineraries of creativity and excellence throughout April and beyond, a perfect way to welcome intrepid travelers back to the city.
Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) was a surrealist painter and storyteller who made up whimsical tales for her children complete with fantastical illustrations. She preserved some of her otherworldly stories in a notebook called The Milk of Dreams, which inspired Cecilia Alemani, the curator of the 2022 International Art Exhibition, to re-enchant the world with her own rendition of reality of during these surreal times.
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| Franz Zéphirin, The Slave Ship Brooks, 2007 - screenshot |
Alemani said:
"The Milk of Dreams describes a magical world where life is constantly re-envisioned through the prism of the imagination. It is a world where everyone can change, be transformed, become something or someone else......During these endless months in front of the screen, I have pondered the question of what role the International Art Exhibition should play at this historical juncture, and the simplest, most sincere answer I could find is that the Biennale sums up all the things we have so sorely missed in the last two years: the freedom to meet people from all over the world, the possibility of travel, the joy of spending time together, the practice of difference, translation, incomprehension, and communion..."
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| Tishan Hsu, Breath 3, 2021 - screenshot |
In addition to the exhibition that takes place in the Central Pavilion at Giardini and in the Arsenale, Biennale Art 2022 also includes 80 National Participations by countries from all over the globe. Visit La Biennale website for lots more information and to watch the press conference with an English translation.
With the arrival of these two major global cultural events, as well as a firm foundation of more than a millennium of art and culture, Venice will once again hitch up her skirts and maintain her stalwart position as an international center where diverse civilizations converge. See you soon in Venice!
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
In April, Venice will be the center of the cultural universe with the openings of both the Homo Faber Event and the 59th Biennale International Art Exhibition. Not only will visitors have the opportunity to witness some of the top contemporary artists and artisans on the planet, you will also wander through ancient venues so thick with history and mystery you can feel the phantoms of the past.
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