Venetian Diary

Venetian Diary (Diario veneziano) explores the city's "domestic dimension" inside the Venice Pavilion, shifting the focus from monumental tourism to an intimate, collective portrait of the people who actually live here.

Developed as a major participatory project, the installation features everyday objects—from old toys to household utensils—loaned directly by the inhabitants of both the historic lagoon and the mainland.

Displayed in curated glass cases alongside the personal stories of their lenders, these ordinary items are transformed into emotional resonance chambers. This dual-site presentation, starting at Ca' Tron and extending into the pavilion, maps the community's collective memory, proving that Venice's true essence lies in its people.

Venetian Diary — la sala del Padiglione Venezia con le teche e la seduta curva

Oggetti prestati dagli abitanti nelle teche, con le storie dei loro proprietari

Ilya and Emilia Kabakov are celebrated conceptual artists who collaborate on immersive environments fusing the everyday with the deeply psychological.

Ilya Kabakov (1933–2023) was a pioneer of the Moscow Conceptualist movement. Since 1988, he worked side-by-side with his wife Emilia (born 1945), who continues to preserve and realize their monumental joint projects globally. Their collaborative works are held in the world's most prestigious collections, including MoMA in New York, Tate Modern in London, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Ilya ed Emilia Kabakov