COURTESY THE GIUDECCA ART DISTRICT
Venice is, of course, filled with art, but during this year’s Venice Biennale, which opens in May, the island of Giudecca is planning to launch what it’s billing as the city’s first permanent art quarter. Called the Giudecca Art District, it will encompass 11 art galleries and three national pavilions— Estonia, Iceland, and Nigeria—and include a new art space, the Giudecca Art District Gallery and Garden.
Pierpaolo Scelsi, the director of the Giudecca Art District, told ARTnews, “The island of Giudecca has an incredible legacy as a platform for nurturing contemporary art and we are thrilled to placing all of its current galleries and future projects under one umbrella of Giudecca Art District. We want to give Venice back to Venetians and art lovers around the world by creating one united art quarter that is a go-to destination for anyone visiting the city.”
Giudecca has hosted several noteworthy installations over the years during the biennale, from Marina Abramovic’s first performance, Relation in Space, back in 1976, to Ai Weiwei’s “Disposition” show in 2013, which addressed his arrest by the Chinese government in 2011.
Sixty artists will have work on view in the district for its opening, at places like Spazio Bullo and Spazio Silos, and an installation by Aleksandra Karpowicz and October! Collective, Body as Home, will be presented at the new gallery site. The piece is a three-channel film shot in Cape Town, London, New York and Warsaw.
Karpowicz told ARTnews, “It is the most personal work I have ever done; it not only turned into a life-changing journey but also gave birth to the female-led October! Collective, which will be part of the exhibition.”