‘Open Space’ – New exhibition opens at Venice’s Giardini della Marinaressa featuring Professor Paul Chamberlain

OPEN SPACE

Giardini della Marinaressa, Venice

Saturday 29 August 2020 – Tuesday 16 February 2021

Organised by the European Cultural Centre – Italy

Read the exhibition catalogue here and the press release here.

The European Cultural Centre presents the First edition of the multidisciplinary outdoor exhibition OPEN SPACE, in the beautiful gardens of Giardini della Marinaressa, with preview and opening party on 28 August 2020.

With this exhibition, the European Cultural Centre would like to acknowledge the important influence of art and design on our lives, by highlighting the relationship with public spaces and communities. OPEN SPACE is an interdisciplinary project involving artists, architects and designers bringing small and large scale installations. The exhibited works will invite visitors to reflect on the connection between public spaces in urban context and the specific concepts highlighted by each participant. The collateral program of public events which will take place in the gardens will support the discussion and diffusion of those ideas through workshops, film screenings, performances and guided tours.

The European Cultural Centre promoted the renovation of the two gardens (Giardino di Levante and Giardino di Ponente) to produce cultural activities and to make these spaces accessible and enjoyable for citizens and international visitors.

The exhibitors are:
Stefano Bombardieri (ITA), Paul Chamberlain (GBR), ECA Contemporary Arts (NDL), European Cultural Academy Collective Arts Workshop (NDL), Carole Feuerman (USA), Riccardo Gatti (ITA), Barbara Grygutis (USA), Edwin Hamilton (USA), David Jacobson (GBR), Ivan Lardschneider (ITA), Stefan Milkov (CZE), Jackie Neale (USA), Jaroslav Róna (CZE), Singapore Centro ETH Future Cities Laboratory (SGP), Andrée Valley (USA).

Professor Paul Chamberlain will be exhibiting his work The Rest of Your Life which reinterprets the humble bench, a symbol of shared space in response to these unprecedented times. The installation offers an egalitarian public resource, a sense of placemaking, opportunity to connect with communities, and combat isolation and loneliness. The work interprets the commemorative nature of the ‘bench’ as a memorial object, capturing this moment in time. Inclusivity is characterised by the archetypal walking stick whilst its materiality possesses antimicrobial properties, pertinent to new social conventions.

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Professor Paul Chamberlain is Professor of Design at Sheffield Hallam University and Design Director of Lab4Living. Lab4Living is a trans-disciplinary research group based on a collaborative community of researchers in design, healthcare and creative practices.