Biennale Gherdëina BG10

The tenth edition of Biennale Gherdëina, titled (Future) Paradise Gardens and curated by Samuel Leuenberger, explores the garden as both a cultural construct and a space for imagining alternative futures. Set within the mountainous landscape of Val Gardena in the Dolomites, the project reflects on the relationship between human intervention and the natural environment, where cultivation is shaped by challenging climatic and geographical conditions.

Developed through the contributions of participating artists, the exhibition examines a range of themes connected to the idea of the garden. These include commoning and collective care, spiritual growth and renewal, the politics of botanical classification, the role of gardens as spaces for reflection and creativity, and the ways in which concepts of nature can be rethought through perspectives such as decolonisation and queer ecology. The exhibition also addresses the tensions embedded in cultivated landscapes, questioning ideals of beauty, control and harmony.

Rather than presenting a single narrative, (Future) Paradise Gardens brings together a variety of artistic responses inspired by the people, histories, traditions and environments of Val Gardena. Through installations, interventions and site-specific projects, the biennial invites visitors to consider how humans coexist with one another and with the more-than-human world.

Conceived as a platform for dialogue and reflection, the exhibition explores questions of care, responsibility and shared futures. It proposes the garden not as a perfected or enclosed paradise, but as a space of learning, transformation and coexistence, where new forms of relationship and mutual understanding can take root.