Towards a Venice’s Ecofeminist Manifest

curated by Rete Arcipelago and based on an artistic project by Benedetta Panisson 

On Sunday 10 November, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm at CREA Cantieri del Contemporaneo, we invite you to a workshop curated by Rete Arcipelago 

Rete Arcipelago, a Venetian collective dedicated to decolonial and ecofeminist perspectives, will guide us in the drafting of an ecofeminist manifesto for Venice based on Benedetta Panisson’s artistic and research project, Queer Sea Marriage.  

Benedetta Panisson will deconstruct the ritual in which Venetian authority marries the Adriatic Sea, opening up a new horizontal project. A proposal for a collective performative action that reimagines the traditional ritual of the Sensa from a queer and eco-feminist perspective, transforming it from a symbol of domination to a celebration of inclusiveness, ecology and mutual respect. 

Rete Arcipelago invites city dwellers who nurture a daily relationship with the sea and the lagoon to participate and talk about their practices, symbols and dreams. Interweaving people’s voices and perspectives will provide insights into the Queer Sea Marriage project.  

The following will intervene 

 Benedetta Panisson born in Venice is a visual artist who works with photography, video and performance, interweaving artistic practice with academic research.  Her research focuses on the relationships between bodies and marine and island landscapes and how these relationships produce a proliferation of erotic imagery. In this workshop she investigates how to re-imagine marriage with the sea and transform research into public action. For link to bio: https://www.benedettapanisson.com/ 

For Rete archipelago network: 

Alessandra Manzini, researcher at PLACES lab CYU Paris University with the project MSCA EUTOPIA SIF SPIRAL: cross-cultural comparative study on practices in spiritual landscapes.  She has been an independent curator of projects such as the transcultural festival FORTinFEST and urban cultural regeneration initiatives such as the Ca’ Bianca Battery. In this workshop she investigates relational imaginaries around the sea and the lagoon, and which practices tell fragments of a cosmology to be recognised and reinvented.  

Marianna Biadene, dancer, choreographer and teacher, since 2011 has been President and Artistic Director of the Gamaka Association, which operates nationwide in the fields of artistic production, research, training and promotion of Indian performing arts. In this workshop he investigates the relationship with water, the body and gender fluidity between different cultures. She brings with her experience of artistic and intercultural dialogue in performance processes and practices. For links to Bio: https://mariannabiadene.blogspot.com/p/marianna-biadene-il-mio-profilo.html 

Adriano De Vita: anthropologist and psychologist. Founder of the Forum Futuro Arsenale and the Associazione Faro Venezia. Director of the film festival specialising in short films on the theme of dialogue and confrontation between cultural diversities, VIFF – Venice Intercultural Film Festival.