Peru 2025, 10 May 2025 — 23 Nov 2025

Eric Frattini, The Uru Expedition led by Kitin Muñoz, 1988. Great Uru raft on the large wooden scaffold. The raft was 20 meters long, 4 meters wide, and weighed 10 tons. Photo Eric Frattini. Private collection. Courtesy of Eric Frattini

Eric Frattini, The Uru Expedition led by Kitin Muñoz, 1988. Aimara artisans working over the scaffolding of the totora reed raft in Punta Negra beach, Lima. Photo Eric Frattini. Private collection. Courtesy of Eric Frattini

National Participations

Peru 2025

Arsenale, Campo de la Tana, 2169, 30122 Venice, Italy

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Title: Living Scaffolding
Commissioner: José Orrego
Curators/Exhibitors: Alex Hudtwalcker, Sebastián Cillóniz, Jose Ignacio Beteta, and Gianfranco Morales

The exhibition presents a large wooden scaffold in the Venice Arsenale, embodying the collective intelligence of the Uros and Aimara communities of Lake Titicaca. It revisits the 1988 construction of a 20-meter totora reed raft, built with ancestral techniques for a 54-day maritime expedition. The scaffold was essential in assembling the raft, just as supporting structures sustain the Uros’ floating islands—self-renewing, adaptable architectures defying time and nature.

In Venice, the scaffold evokes both the Arsenale’s shipbuilding past and the enduring legacy of totora craftsmanship. Visitors are invited to inhabit the structure, experiencing the ingenuity of these ancient construction methods and their resonance with contemporary ecological and architectural challenges.

Contacts & Details

VENUE:
Arsenale
OPENING TIMES:
May 10 – Sep 28 11am – 8pm; Sep 29 – Nov 23 10am – 6pm

ADDRESS
Arsenale, Campo de la Tana, 2169, 30122 Venice, Italy