Ocean Space – Venice Art Biennale 2026 | Public Program
6 May – 9 May 2026
During the opening week of the Art Biennale 2026, Ocean Space brings Tide of Returns to life through a dynamic program of performances, talks, and collective gatherings that invite audiences into a shared experience of movement, sound, and reflection. Throughout the week, Verena Melgarejo Weinandt’s recurring performance Braiding Connections weaves its way across the site, linking the waters around San Lorenzo through a living gesture of connection that unfolds with and among the audience. Alongside this, conversations and presentations, including Legacy Russell’s exploration of digital decolonization and the symposium Between Tides: Gatherings on Return, open up critical perspectives on restitution, memory, and cultural circulation. The program culminates in Sonic Returns, an evening of music and performance, leaving Ocean Space resonating as a place where ideas of return are not only discussed, but felt, heard, and collectively enacted.
Ocean Space - Art Biennale 2026, a public program by TBA21–Academy and Ocean Space. Strategic Media Partner: ArtReview / Electric Mobility Partner: Repower
The exhibition Tide of Returns by Repatriates Collective is commissioned and produced by TBA21–Academy for Ocean Space, under the patronage of “Le Città in Festa” - Città di Venezia. The commission “Weaving Connections” by Verena Melgarejo Weinandt is produced in partnership with Alcantara with the support of the Federal Ministry for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport of Austria and Forum Austriaco di Cultura. The commission “From My Mother’s Country” is produced under the patronage of the Embassy of Australia and the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Namibia.
The Policy Lab, Nature Speaks: Listening for Rights of Nature in Venice and Europe, is Ocean Space's Research Unit, curated by Pietro Consolandi and Amalia Rossi, co-produced by TBA21–Academy and NICHE Centre for Environmental Humanities, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, in collaboration with IDRA and the Confluence of European Water Bodies.
