The Venice Biennale is the global epicentre of modern art languages–of all arts. Anyone who has any role in art experimentation is bound to touch base here, in a city that all too often is mentioned for its fragility. For this reason, it is important to highlight the vital expressions, the perseverance, the pride of this incredible hotbed of culture, truly the envy of the world. Would it be advisable to rest on one’s laurels? Certainly not. It pays to follow the lead of the Biennale and work hard to add interesting, beautiful cultural productions, and it pays even more to do so on the occasion of the three Biennales that are less showy, so to speak: the Music, Dance, and Theatre Biennale. One such example is the upcoming project by one of the most productive laboratories of modern art languages: Fabrica, belonging to the Benetton Group.

Fabrica reopens Venezia Fabrica Futura with Listen, Venice…, a series of research explorations concerning Venice and its complex ecosystem organized in collaboration with Iuav University of Venice and Sound Studies Hub (SSH!). On the occasion of Biennale Musica 2023, two sound artists will present their installations that contemplate and reinterpret the Venetian soundscapes to foster sonic awareness. Fabrica’s Japanese interdisciplinary artist Asuka Akagawa seeks to manifest concerns regarding the sonic ecology of Venice through translations of anthropogenic activities to elements of sound and light. Swiss sound artist Ramon De Marco, a former Fabrica resident, presents a method of sensitization aimed at promoting appreciation for the beauty and diversity of Venice’s fragile ecosystem. The program will also include a series of events, among them a round table discussion, lectures and concerts by renowned sound experts including Chris Watson, English musician and sound recordist; David Rothenberg, American composer, jazz clarinetist and philosopher; Jana Winderen, Norwegian artist, mathematician and chemist, Francesco Bergamo and Nicola Di Croce, architects and researchers from Iuav and Sound Studies Hub (SSH!). Listen, Venice… is the second chapter of Venezia Fabrica Futura, an eco-critical laboratory of a contemporary Venice, that opened at Complesso dell’Ospedaletto in May 2023. Among the works on display, a series of multimedia projects created by Fabrica’s young creatives along with presentations, lagoon tastings, concerts, screenings and performances with international guests.

Featured image: Photo Nicola Pianalto