Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo: Building an Island for Art in Venice

Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo – San Giacomo fulfills a dream that began many years ago with my husband, Agostino. I have always loved Venice for its history, its beauty, its extraordinary heritage and, naturally, for the central role it plays in the world of contemporary art. The Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo was founded in 1995, and our first major exhibition, in June of that year, opened here in Venice during the Biennale, in a space at the Arsenale that was not yet being used at the time. Since then, the Foundation has always supported the Biennale, both through the production of works exhibited in the International Exhibition – works by artists such as Doug Aitken, Goshka Macuga, Ragnar Kjartansson, Alicja Kwade and Giulia Cenci, to name just a few – and through its ongoing support of the Italian Pavilion. Since that 1995 exhibition, Venice has become part of the history of the institution I have chaired for thirty years. It therefore felt natural to think of opening a venue here, the third after Guarene and Turin.

PSRR – Before discovering San Giacomo, we had visited several palazzi on the Grand Canal and carried out site inspections on the Lido, looking at industrial spaces suitable for contemporary art exhibitions. The island struck us from the very first moment: immersed in the lagoon’s delicate ecosystem, it has a very special energy. It is an outpost in the middle of the water where, on clear days, you can see both the sunrise and the sunset. San Giacomo is the place where my thirty years of work in contemporary art came together with the work my husband, Agostino Re Rebaudengo, carries out through his company, Asja Energy, in the field of renewable energy. Like the Foundation, Asja was founded in 1995. We knew that on this small island, in addition to organising exhibitions and residencies and commissioning works for the outdoor spaces, we could also make a contribution to the crucial issues of ecology and sustainability. Following the restoration and construction work, the island is now completely self-sufficient: we are not connected to any public utility network and, thanks to solar power, we generate our own energy and purify our own water. We hope to install a small wind turbine soon as well. The island has thus become a place for art, culture and the environment.

PSRR – The first time my husband and I arrived, the island was completely covered in extremely dense vegetation. We had no idea what we would find underneath it. Once the vegetation had been cleared, we finally discovered the buildings, in particular the two powder magazines dating back to the Napoleonic era. Once restored, they became exhibition spaces. We worked step by step with the Soprintendenza (Italy’s heritage authority) because the island is protected, finding together the most appropriate way to bring it back to life. I like to recall, for example, that the 30,000 bricks recovered from the existing ruins were washed by hand, one by one, and then reused for the façades. Overall, it was a very long process and not always an easy one, but our collaboration with the Soprintendenza was essential and extremely valuable. It has allowed the island to regain the charm of centuries past and to become inhabitable once again: a place where we can live, invite artists and create exhibitions and artworks together with them. We are now working to make the island accessible to visitors. Our goal is to be ready for the Architecture Biennale, so that a large public will be able to visit San Giacomo.

PSRR – Yes, San Giacomo can be visited by appointment, by calling or writing to the Foundation at venezia@fsrr.org. With this arrangement, we remained open until 12 September. At the moment, the island is closed to the public because we are working on the buildings that will house the residencies for artists and curators. Following the opening on 7 May, we organised numerous visits to the site and the exhibitions, accompanied by our cultural mediators. Next year we will be even better organised and will try to offer a calendar of visiting days starting in May, to coincide with the Architecture Biennale.

PSRR – As Hans Ulrich Obrist says, we have created an archipelago of our own. We have different venues. Palazzo Re Rebaudengo in Guarene is a family residence, an eighteenth-century palazzo where we opened the Foundation’s first venue in 1997. Guarene is three kilometres from Alba, between Langhe and Roero, an area I have known and lived in for many years and where I have always felt welcomed. This is precisely why it felt natural to me to put Alba forward for 2027. For many years, our work in Guarene has been not only exhibition-based but also educational. In 2019, before Covid, we decided to give a new purpose to one side of the San Licerio hill, where we have a vineyard planted with Nebbiolo grapes. That year, we began inviting artists to create large-scale site-specific works. The Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Art Park now hosts twenty large sculptures; it is always open and admission is free. Guarene is a wonderful place, and Palazzo Re Rebaudengo is full of charm and history, but I wanted to have a venue in Turin where we could carry out activities on a daily basis, especially in the field of education. Every year, more than 30,000 children and students take part in our workshops. We also organise many activities for adults: on Thursday evenings we stay open free of charge until 11pm and organise workshops and other opportunities for learning and social interaction within the exhibitions. We devote great attention to people in more vulnerable situations, with programmes designed for people who are deaf, blind or aphasic, as well as people with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Opened in 2002, the Turin venue was necessary in order to further develop the work that had begun in Guarene.

As for Madrid, it is a city I love very much. It is a major European capital, but it is also a bridge to Latin American countries. The Fundación Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Madrid was established nine years ago, so in 2027 it will celebrate its first ten years. In 2017, the Foundation was ready to expand, taking its knowledge, methods and network of relationships abroad. It felt natural to establish the heart of the new institution in Madrid, but that has not prevented us from moving around and remaining “nomadic”. For example, at this very moment, “Territoris en trànsit” (Irene Grau & Marco Giordano) is on view at IVAM (Institut Valencià d’Art Modern) in Valencia, an exhibition the Foundation produced in collaboration with this important Spanish museum. For our exhibitions in Madrid, each year we identify special locations where we invite artists who are still relatively unknown in Spain to work and exhibit. We expect to open our permanent venue in the capital within the next few years, a space that will allow us to maintain an ongoing programme.

PSRR – Today the Foundation has a curatorial team with whom we define the entire programme. The objectives are the same in Turin, Guarene, Venice and Madrid: to involve artists from younger generations in projects and exhibitions through the production of exhibitions and new works. Our first objective is to bring contemporary art closer to people through cultural mediation and a rich educational programme. Another central mission concerns specialist training. Twenty years ago, we launched the Young Curator Residency Programme, a residency for young international curators. Every year, we invite three curators who have just completed their studies at some of the world’s leading curatorial schools to come to Turin and then travel throughout Italy, visiting artists’ studios, museums, institutions and independent spaces. At the end of the programme, they return to Guarene, where they organise an exhibition with the Italian artists they have met.

Over the years, we have also experimented with the same format in Madrid. In short, across our different venues, our objectives translate into supporting artists, producing new works, supporting curators and bringing contemporary art closer to an ever broader public.

PSRR – It will be ready next year. As in Turin, Guarene and Madrid, here too we will be able to host artists and curators, giving them the opportunity to spend time in Venice and work in a highly focused environment in order to develop projects and artworks, but also to meet and engage in dialogue with scientists and experts involved in discussions around ecology. In addition to exhibiting works of art, the Foundation pays close attention to the emerging issues of our time, from ecology to sustainability, from inclusion and rights to postcolonialism.

PSRR – I imagine it being very green, a garden in the middle of the sea. The trees we planted are growing, and this summer we began our life on the island. Just as in Guarene, on the San Licerio hill, we have also planted a vineyard here, from which we will produce a small amount of wine. Alongside the exhibitions in the powder magazines, we have begun commissioning outdoor works. This year we produced “Huff and a Puff”, the church and bell tower by Hugh Hayden; “Old Tree (Pink Seas)”, the pink tree by Pamela Rosenkranz; and “Patriarchy = CO2”, the illuminated sign by Claire Fontaine. In the coming years, other artists will create works which, I am sure, will give San Giacomo distinctive landmarks and great visibility.

The island will be a place for art and culture, not only contemporary art. For example, on 11 September we screened the restored version of Luchino Visconti’s “Death in Venice” here to celebrate the 120th anniversary of his birth. The event created a partnership with the Venice Film Festival, something we also hope to develop with the Biennales devoted to dance, music, architecture and theatre. San Giacomo has a wonderful history in the field of theatre: the last person to use the island was the great theatre director Jerzy Grotowski, who in 1975, after being invited to curate the Theatre Biennale, decided to settle on the island for a month without electricity, water or food – everything had to be brought over from Venice. He spent his time here preparing the staging of the famous production “Apocalypsis cum figuris”.

This is also why, in previous years, when work on the island had not yet been completed, we decided to organise two performances: in 2022 with Jota Mombaça and in 2024 with Eun-Me Ahn. We believe in the importance of performance. Keeping it alive on the island is our way of paying tribute to Grotowski, ensuring continuity with the spirit of this place.

Credits:

1. Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and Mara Sartore, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, San Giacomo island, Venice, 2026. Photo: Maxim Dosca. Courtesy My Art Guides, Lightbox.

2, 3. Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, San Giacomo island, Venice, 2026. Photo: Jacopo Trabuio.

4. Claire Fontaine (Fulvia Carnevale and James Thornhill), PATRIARCHY = CO2, 2020. Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, San Giacomo island, Venice, 2026. Photo: Maxim Dosca. Courtesy My Art Guides, Lightbox.

5. Goshka Macuga, GONOGO, 2021. Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, San Giacomo island, Venice, 2026. Photo: Maxim Dosca. Courtesy My Art Guides, Lightbox.

6. Pamela Rosenkranz, Old Tree (Pink Seas). Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, San Giacomo island, Venice, 2026. Photo: Maxim Dosca. Courtesy My Art Guides, Lightbox.

7. Thomas Schütte, Nixe, 2021. Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, San Giacomo island, Venice, 2026. Photo: Jacopo Trabuio.

8, 9. Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and Mara Sartore, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, San Giacomo island, Venice, 2026. Photo: Maxim Dosca. Courtesy My Art Guides, Lightbox.

10, 11. Hugh Hayden, Huff and a Puff, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, San Giacomo island, Venice, 2026. Photo: Maxim Dosca. Courtesy My Art Guides, Lightbox.