CIVIC in Venice: Week Two
It was great to see Amanda and Bella this week for a catch-up on how the residency is progressing. We visited the Arsenale with them for part two of the Architecture Biennale which we felt was much more cohesive than the Giardini, a lot slicker and more impressive. It felt more thoughtful also, with more personal issues being tackled such as Alzheimer's, which was poignantly addressed in the Irish Pavilion, which stood out for us conceptually, sonically and aesthetically.
Thursday was our CIVIC in Venice ‘Walk & Talk’. ‘Walk & Talk’ was a method used in Swansea to examine the architecture and peculiarities of the area, initially devised as a way of creating a new dialogue between artists and architects at the start of the CIVIC project.
Here in Venice, the Walk & Talk involved Bella & Amanda from Swansea, some residents, staff and friends of Casa Dell’Ospitalita, Venezia, and a German farmer who wandered into the house one day, on holiday in Venice for a week. It was really nice to hear some of the architectural stories of the Cannaregio area, especially from the residents themselves. Aldo (one of the residents of Casa Dell’Ospitalita) took on the role of tour guide, explaining the reasons for some of the architectural anomalies we’d been wondering about. Aldo has also proved to be a wealth of information regarding the whole of Venice, and has some really interesting stories which we’re beginning to discover.
The Walk & Talk enabled residents of Venice to tell each other stories about the place they call home, as well as enabling us to develop new relationships which we hope to continue beyond the residency, when we return to Wales.
To follow our residency in pictures, click on the 'visual diary' tab in the menu, under 'work'.