Emilia Kabakov guides the composition of a Venetian self-portrait Coinciding with the Biennale Arte 2026, the artist presents 'Venetian Diary'
By Alessia De Michelis
Three years after the death of Ukrainian artist Ilya Kabakov (1933–2023), his wife Emilia Kabakov (1945) inherited his legacy, continuing the projects they conceived together and reaffirming the centrality of one of the most incisive researches of the second half of the twentieth century. Their partnership, born in the late 1980s and formalized in 1992, redefined the concept of the "total installation" : immersive environments in which personal memory and utopian tension intertwine in a universal reflection on the human condition.
The final stop on this long journey arrives in Venice, a city with which the Kabakovs have maintained a dialogue for almost fifty years. Already in 1977, during the Biennale del Dissenso promoted by Carlo Ripa di Meana, an exhibition on new Soviet art marked the beginning of a bond destined to consolidate over time.
Today, coinciding with the 61st International Art Exhibition (May 9–November 22), "Venetian Diary" takes shape, a monumental and participatory project curated by Cesare Biasini Selvaggi and Giulia Abate. From May 9 to June 28, the main floor of Ca' Tron, the historic headquarters of the Iuav University, will be transformed into a collective narrative device. Not an exhibition about Venice, but an exhibition with Venice.
" Venice is filled with people working tirelessly to preserve not only the city itself, but also a sense of community we rarely encounter in the digital age. In an age where political, economic, and religious differences seem insurmountable, Venice is a beacon of hope for what can happen when neighbors support each other and share the responsibility of caring for their home for future generations ," says Emilia Kabakov.
The idea has its roots in 1993, when for "Rendez (-) Vous" at the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst in Ghent the Kabakovs experimented with an installation based on shared writing. Today that intuition is renewed: around 500 inhabitants of the metropolitan city will be invited to write a page in their diary, accompanying it with a symbolic object. Children and the elderly, new citizens and historic families, together with artists and writers who live in the lagoon, will compose a mosaic of memories, desires and hopes.
