Tuesday, June 11, 2013

ArtNight Venezia: June 22, 2013 an evening you don’t want to miss.

ArtNight Venezia 2013

ArtNight Venezia is fast becoming the cultural summer event around town; this year the organizers—Ca’Foscari Universtiy and the city of Venice—have chosen Saturday June 22, 2013 for its third edition. From 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. nearly 200 museums, galleries, book stores, concert halls, churches, educational and cultural centers will turn on their lights and open their doors to 400 cultural events, and welcome visitors looking to enrich their curious minds and souls. Free guided tours, concerts, literary readings, documentary films and musical performances will remind the world, and hopefully satisfy locals who often feel invaded at home, that Venice isn’t simply a tourist attraction, but a living, working, breathing conglomeration of magnificent culture.    

 
I was one of ArtNight Venezia's 30,000 spectators last year, and the year before. So, I can testify that it's an event where many of the city's buildings, usually locked up tight, splash light and life onto Venice’s otherwise dark canals and alleyways; a special night of the year when a secret part of Venice—the part I consider her heart—comes to life.

 
During ArtNight Venezia:

 
·       You might experience the sound of a choir spilling onto a campo, leading you up church steps and beyond heavy wood doors that stretch out like open arms, inviting you inside.

 
·       You might find the Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista open, and step past the confraternity’s marvelous marble façade to enter the ground floor Sala delle Colonne, and its quiet hidden garden. Then climb one of the two monumental staircases to the Salone Capitolare—the grand room originally built to hold the school’s general assembly. (I like to imagine this salone filled with music, masked gents and damsels dancing over the masterfully laid marble floor.)

 
·       You might visit the Ateneo Veneto in Campo San Fantin to hear an author read an excerpt from his or her book, before taking a guided tour of the institution’s library.

 
·       Or you might accidentally discover a splendid cortile where—with a glass of prosecco placed in your hand—you settle down on cushion covered marble to watch a contemporary dancer project her art on a monastery’s 16th century wall.

 
These are a few of the events I experienced during ArtNight Venezia. Some are included in this year’s program, too. A program filled with so many choices that it’s impossible to see them all. But that’s not the point. You can select and plan your own experiences or simply walk around town and stumble onto something unexpected. Whichever you choose, I’m certain you’ll find ArtNight Venezia delightful.

 
For full program information browse ArtNight Venezia at http://www.artnight.it/it/eventi

Or Join ArtNight Venezia on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ArtNightVenezia?ref=ts&fref=ts