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Ocean Space

Opening hours
Ocean Space reopens on March 28

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A collaborative platform for Ocean Imagination and Ocean Action established and led by TBA21–Academy

Frontal view of Ocean Space inside the Church of San Lorenzo in Venice, featuring the unfinished brick façade opening onto a small canal-side square, framed by historic buildings in light and warm tones.
Ocean Space, Chiesa di San Lorenzo / Photo: Enrico Fiorese
Convivial Tables in the Square, You and I Eat the Same Tides. Final event of the 2023 Convivial Tables program curated by The Tidal Garden. Ocean Space, September 2023. / Photo: Enrico Fiorese
A group of children standing in a circle during an outdoor activity in the square in front of the Church of San Lorenzo in Venice, raising their hands while historic buildings line the background.
Final event of the Ocean Schools 2023/2024 educational program, Ocean Space, Venice, 2024. / Photo: Martina Barbon

Exhibitions

Tide of Returns

28 March – 11 October 2026

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Nature Speaks. Listening for Rights of Nature in Venice and Europe

28 March – 11 October 2026

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Past

otras montañas, las que andan sueltas bajo el agua

5 April – 2 November 2025

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Activities

To keep up to date with news about our exhibitions, and our public and educational programs, you can subscribe to our newsletter.

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Education

TBA21–Academy’s educational program at Ocean Space aims to foster the creation of conscious identities that participate in the evolution of contemporary society in all its complexity and continual changes.
The educational program is rooted in considering the Ocean as a physical, social, and aesthetic connector. Water is essential for the survival of all creatures. For human beings, it has been important since the very beginning of life.

 

Given the current challenges, it is vital to rethink our relationship with water and consider its primary role and its dominant presence in our bodies, in different territorial environments, and in the global ocean system.

 

Ocean Space is a multifunctional center and presents itself as an educational resource for everyone: from the school community to families, adolescents and adults, young people in education, people with disabilities, and professionals.

 

Through the proposed activities, differentiated by age, skills, and interests, the participants in the permanent program—divided into "Ocean Schools", "Ocean Families" and "Ocean for All”—develop collaborative, interdisciplinary, and critical thinking.

A man points at a glowing interactive surface while two women lean in, watching closely and smiling in a dimly lit, futuristic exhibition space.
Children work with a teacher on a shadow theater setup, using cut-out fish and seaweed shapes illuminated by an overhead projector as they create an underwater scene.
A woman wearing headphones stands inside a dim, cave like installation, watching a bright video projection of the ocean and a breaking wave framed by a rough stone window.
A group of young children stands closely together watching an underwater video projection with red text subtitles, their faces lit by the blue glow of the screen.
A group of adults gathers around two black tables inside a large historic hall with scaffolding along the walls, listening to a woman who is presenting materials laid out in front of her.
Volunteers lean over the edge of a canal in a historic city, using nets and bags to collect debris from the water while others look on from the walkway and a small bridge nearby.
A group of people stands inside a spacious, rustic exhibition hall, listening attentively as a guide explains a large textured rock installation in the foreground.
A speaker sits cross legged on a blue platform holding a microphone and addressing an audience seated informally on the floor and cushions inside a spacious hall with exposed brick walls.

Contact

education@ocean-space.org

Activities

All activities are free of charge

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Research

Established and led by TBA21–Academy, Ocean Space is a planetary center for exhibitions, research, and public programs catalyzing critical ocean literacy, collaborative research, and environmental advocacy through the arts.

TBA21–Academy, TBA21's research platform, fosters a deeper relationship with the Ocean and wider ecologies through the lens of art to inspire care and action.

Through physical and digital initiatives, research, and programs the Academy works as an incubator for collaborative inquiry, artistic production, and environmental advocacy, catalyzing new forms of knowledge emerging from the exchanges between art, science, policy, and conservation.

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Visit

© Photo: Enrico Fiorese

General information

Free entrance

Address

Ocean Space
Chiesa di San Lorenzo
Castello 5069

30122, Venezia VE

Contact

info@ocean-space.org

Opening hours

Ocean Space reopens on Saturday, March 28, 2026

Getting here

Ocean Space is located in the area of Castello, between the Giardini of the Biennale, the Arsenale and Piazza San Marco.

Waterbus / Vaporetto

Ospedale Stop can be reached on lines 4.1 / 4.2 / 5.1 / 5.2 / 22

San Zaccaria Stop can be reached on lines 1 / 2 / 4.1 / 14 / 15

Accessibility

Ocean Space is accessible to visitors with disabilities, and there are no architectural obstacles from the boat stop at San Zaccaria. See the map below:

Accessible Path to Ocean Space
Accessible Path to Ocean Space

Our accessible entrance is located around the corner from the cloister (access to public library). Please come to the main entrance in Campo San Lorenzo for assistance.

 

Animals are not allowed in the exhibition space. Ocean Space welcomes trained service dogs. 

 

WATCH THE PRESENTATION OF OCEAN SPACE IN ITALIAN SIGN LANGUAGE (LIS) and discover the project "Abecedarium. The Ocean in Sign Language".

Tours

Ocean Space offers guided tours about the current exhibitions and the history of the Church of San Lorenzo. Free of charge and booking is not requested. Meet our Exhibition Attendant at the entrance of Ocean Space. 

 

Private tours of the exhibition can be organized for interested individuals and groups. For information and booking a private tour please write to info@ocean-space.org

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About

© Photo: Nicolò Miana

Located in the Church of San Lorenzo in Venice, Ocean Space is a planetary center for exhibitions, research and public programs catalyzing critical ocean literacy, collaborative research, and environmental advocacy through the arts. 

 

Established and led by TBA21–Academy and building on its expansive work, this embassy for the Ocean fosters wonder, engagement, and collective action.

 

Ocean Space opened to the public in 2019 with the exhibition “Moving Off the Land II” by Joan Jonas, having been largely closed to the public for over 100 years and after extensive renovations, which were finished in early 2020. Ocean Space operates an annual program and is open to the public from spring to autumn.

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