THE SILENCE OF SEA

On the occasion of the Biennale, EMERGENCY and the Art for Action Foundation present The Silence of the Sea, an exhibition by Sarah Makharine and Benjamin Loyseau, hosted at the NGO’s Venice headquarters on the Giudecca. The opening will take place on May 7 at 5 p.m., with the participation of the artists and representatives from both organizations.

The exhibition is part of After Migration, the first edition of Parliaments of the Invisibles, a project conceived by Anish Kapoor and aimed at transforming invisibility into social power. The initiative resonates with the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, which reflects on the concept of Intelligens and the global dynamics linked to migration.

According to UNHCR, over 31 million people are forcibly displaced from their home countries each year. At the same time, Europe will need around 60 million new inhabitants by 2030 to cope with an aging population. After Migration shifts the focus from the journey of migration to the condition of arriving and remaining, questioning the meaning of integration.

Within this framework, The Silence of the Sea offers an immersive journey through the humanitarian work carried out by EMERGENCY in the central Mediterranean. The first room, Room of Voices, presents a sound installation by Sarah Makharine featuring testimonies from the crew of EMERGENCY’s ship Life Support, accompanied by 58 glass bottles: 35 contain the wristbands given to rescued castaways, while 23 remain empty in memory of those who did not survive. In the Room of Bodies and Boundaries, a line traced on the floor and a looping video invite visitors to physically experience the constraints of a sea journey.

The exhibition concludes with Unknown Position, a photographic series by Benjamin Loyseau: powerful images documenting life aboard EMERGENCY’s ship, among night-time rescues, waiting, fear, and solidarity.

The exhibition is part of a broader itinerary involving three symbolic locations in Venice: EMERGENCY’s headquarters on the Giudecca, Dreams in Transit at the Procuratie Vecchie, and the island of San Servolo.

Free admission (Wed–Sat, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.).
Closed in July and August.