VENICE.- Zuecca Project Space presents its programme for the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia, 9 May – 22 November 2015. Under the guidance of Director Alessandro Possati, Zuecca Project Space, a Venetian non-profit art organisation which aims to facilitate cultural research and dialogue, will present three diverse projects across the city of Venice.

Ahead of the Venice Biennale, Zuecca Project Space launched the Spazio Ridotto on 25 March 2015 as a new exhibition center in the heart of Venice, dedicated to facilitating interdisciplinary dialogue and artistic experimentation. The Spazio Ridotto gallery, which is dedicated to digital artistic projects, creating a connection between the physical exhibition space and the digital world, was opened with an exhibition of Margot Bowman’s work entitled ‘W.E.T.’ This exhibition presents a digital exploration on the impact of climate change, exploring the emotional and social realities of a future in the throws extreme global warming.

‘The Internet Saga’ by Jonas Mekas at the Spazio Ridotto
Celebrating the opening of their new Spazio Ridotto gallery at the Venice Biennale 2015, Zuecca Project space and Francesco Urbano Ragazzi will present ‘The Internet Saga’, a two part exhibition of work by the renowned filmmaker, poet and artist Jonas Mekas. One part of ‘The Internet Saga’, exhibited at the Spazio Ridotto (7 May 2015 – 30 June 2015), will feature Mekas’ work Birth of a Nation (1997.) This work is composed of four simultaneous projections, displaying 160 portraits of directors and friends that, along with the artist himself, have formed the history of independent cinema in America. Celebrating the community and group of artists that Mekas calls ‘family’, the artist states that this work represents the origins of a nation with no boundaries. ‘The Internet Saga’ at the Spazio Ridotto will also illustrate how Mekas’ characteristic movie editing of the New American Cinema has anticipated the internet revolution in both art and daily life. As part of the show, Mekas will perform a poetic reading ‘To the Internet’, written especially for the occasion, at the Spazio Ridotto on 7 May 2015 at 10:30PM. This will be followed by the screening of Mekas’ Birth of a Nation to commence the ‘Sleepless Night’ event, a 24 hour screening of the artist’s works. Through the night, the Spazio Ridotto will remain open to offer visitors a relaxed evening for viewing Jonas Mekas’ pioneering films and provide a sanctuary from the frenzy of the Biennale Vernissage week.

Another part of ‘The Internet Saga’, curated by Francesco Urbano Ragazzi, will open on 6 May 2015 at 7:00PM. This exhibition will showcase previously unseen work by Mekas at the Palazzo Foscari Contarini, a Renaissance style historic home on the Grand Canal which now houses the first and only Burger King in Venice. The two exhibitions, at two diverse historic and contemporary locations united by the Grand Canal, will aim to illustrate our permanent connection with the internet. ‘The Internet Saga’ will also be streamed online through the official website www.internetsaga.com and will be presented live at the Naval Officers Club at Arsenale on 7 May 2015. During this event, all timelines connected to ‘The Internet Saga’, from social media networks to Jonas Mekas' website and critical texts and writings will be projected in one virtual space. Following this, there will be a skype performance, entitled ‘TITRE’, by Argentinian artist Amalia Ulman inspired by the poetry of Jonas Mekas.

‘Heartbreak Hotel’, group exhibition from the Vanhaerents Art Collection at Zuecca Project Space
From 6 May through 15 September 2015, the Vanhaerents Art Collection will showcase ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, the first major exhibition of the collection outside Belgium, at Zuecca Project Space. Curated by the collection’s founder, Walter Vanhaerents, in celebration of his 70th birthday this year, the exhibition will display thirteen works inspired by pop music history and drawing from the evocative lyrics of Elvis Presley’s 1956 song. The exhibition will include works by acclaimed artists including Bruce Nauman, Cindy Sherman, Bill Viola and Andy Warhol as well as a newly commissioned sculpture by Nick van Woert, demonstrating the collection’s wide breadth of interest and its ongoing dedication to international contemporary art. This exhibition will demonstrate the importance of showcasing private collections to the greater public and explore the way art is bought and consumed. The Vanhaerents Art Collection will work together with Zuecca Project Space to exhibit Walter Vanhaerents’ prized pieces to provide a unique insight into the intimacy of a single collector’s taste and research.

Music performance by Haroon Mirza at the Bauer Terrace
Zuecca Project Space will be joining forces with Italian art organisations OnFair Young Collectors, DRAGOLAB and ARTUNER to form Si Sistema Italia and to present a music performance by Haroon Mirza at the Bauer Terrace on 7 May 2015. This event will celebrate the start of the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia and kick off Si’s first in-situ forum for young art collectors. This collaboration aims to provide a meeting place for young art collectors, artists and curators, to strengthen the interaction and foster potential projects. Haroon Mirza embraces Si’s mission through his own media and the multisensory and multidimensional scope of his works, while also expressing the unified interaction which Si encourages with international art organisations.