A decolonial walk in Venice

Walk & Collaborative Workshop
Saturday, November 9
9h30 – 12h
Departure point: Natural History Museum of Venice
Price: reduced entrance fees (9.50€ students, 12€ adult)

EN

Curated by Shaul Bassi & Georgia Satchwell

As part of the 2024 TRANSEUROPA Festival, A Decolonial Walk in Venice guides participants through the city, confronting the city’s colonial legacy across different historical periods, its postcolonial responses, and its potential for decolonisation.

Our point of departure will be the Natural History Museum where, in the midst of a traditional display of stuffed animals and neatly displayed biological specimens, there is a very peculiar ethnographic section based on the 19th-century travels to central Africa by the Venetian explorer Giovanni Miani. Accompanied by the curator, we will examine the display, which reflects a typical Italian conservationist approach that prioritises a philological over a critical view of cultural heritage. We will explore possible alternatives, including restitution, new arrangements, or the use of digital tools to offer decolonial counter-narratives.

At the Basilica dei Frari, we will examine the tomb of Doge Giovanni Pesaro, designed in 1669 by Baldassare Longhena. This monument, often overlooked, depicts four Black African slaves straining under the weight of the doge’s platform. We’ll reflect on how slavery is both glaringly visible yet frequently ignored in Venice’s artistic landscape, and discuss possible approaches for reinterpreting such historical monuments to confront this troubling legacy.

The walk will conclude at AKKA Project, a gallery showcasing contemporary African art, where we will see how artists from various African countries, through its residency program, have engaged with Venice’s cultural heritage and reimagined the city through their art. This stop will offer insights into how visual art can contribute to a transformed understanding of Venice’s colonial history and suggest new ways to reinterpret the sites we’ve explored.

Acknowledging that decolonisation is an active process of change, participants will be invited to critically engage with and reimagine the sites, offering insights and ideas for creating a more inclusive, feminist, and decolonial future. As we explore, we will consider key questions: What are the responsibilities of museums and cultural institutions in addressing their colonial legacies, and what steps can be taken toward decolonisation? Whose stories are visible in the social fabric of Venice, and whose have been silenced or forgotten?

The walk is registration only, with a maximum of 20 participants.

(to pay for) REGISTER HERE