AQUAGRANDA

CONCEPT

The last time the high water sirens sounded for so long was in 2019. Since then, high water as we knew it no longer reaches Venice. Since MOSE came into action, it has almost always blocked exceptional tides, and the sirens are no longer part of the city's background noise. The 2019 flood and the subsequent technical solutions adopted are redefining the relationship between the lagoon and the tide.

Before 2019, the residents of the lagoon city were accustomed to high water arriving during certain periods of the year, but since 2019, this phenomenon has become "invisible" in the daily lives of those who live in Venice, although the issue is still debated among experts. These interventions are giving a new face to Venice, which is no longer a city underwater, but something new with new geographies and new scenarios that are gradually unfolding. The tide continues to exist, as do episodes of exceptional high water, but our experience of it has radically changed.

The risk is that a "tide culture" , of how tides regulate the relationships between the lagoon, its ecology, and the city, may be lost, or that the increasing frequency of exceptional peaks and their connection to ongoing climate change may not be perceived, in the illusion that the sea has been "tamed." High water was the source of precise knowledge of the lagoon and its rhythms, but also of the city, its paths, its altitude profile, and its social stratification.

On this third anniversary of the exceptional high water of 2019, we want to explore the new relationship with the tide in the lagoon ecosystem and dive into the flood of memories that the aquatic roots of this city hold.

We will return to listen to the sirens to make the tide of memories stored in the "roots of water" visible.

STRATIGRAFIE OPERATIVE

An artistic project by Giulia Bruno, Armin Linke, and Lorenzo Mason for AquaGranda, which involves the activation of operational archives and technical photographs related to socio-natural phenomena characterizing our times, such as the impact of rising sea levels and climate change.

The collected materials and operational testimonies used in their work originate from the archives of institutions, the operational material of private individuals working in the lagoon, and the processes involved in the management and protection of the city of Venice.

Through this ongoing research effort, initiated in 2022 in collaboration with the AquaGranda project, the artists have developed a new form of awareness and activation through a mobile installation hosted on ACTV's navigation lines 1 and 2, from November 12 to December 12, 2023. The project offers a fresh perspective on the role of photography through the interpretation of operational stratigraphic inscriptions.

PUBLIC PROGRAM - Rooted in Water

Roots in Water is the public program of AquaGranda 2023, through which we aim to trace the aquatic roots of Venice and explore possible future scenarios for the city. Through a rich and engaging program of events, talks, workshops, and educational activities, AquaGranda will flood the city with a tide of memories and visions for the future.

We will give voice to climate migrants through an event organized at the Emergency headquarters with Euclipa and C.T.R. Venice. We will meet at Serra Giardini with researchers from CNR ISMAR and IUAV to discuss MOSE and the future of the lagoon ecosystem. Shylock CUT will accompany us in a reading of unpublished texts curated by researchers, professionals, and activists from Venice who ponder the connection between the role of women and a new motherhood in the context of the climate crisis. At the M9 Museum, director Giovanni Pellegrini will present a special screening of “LAGUNARIA”, a journey between the past and future of Venice. We will talk about the memories of high water sent to us by citizens and former Venetian residents during our just-concluded call for contributors. We will immerse ourselves in these memories and discuss them together with Alberto Toso Fei and Giovanni Montanaro.

During our 10 meetings with the coastal city, we intend to focus on the memory of climate events and their impact on the lagoon ecosystem.

Colophon

• Artistic Director: Luc Steels
• Scientific Director: Massimo Warglien
• Partnership and engagement manager: Marco Cosmo
• Project manager: Giulia Saya
• Public program manager: Gabriella Traviglia
• Curator: Erica Villa
• Curator: Costanza Sartoris
• Research, methods and Technology manager: Carlo R.M.A. Santagiustina
• Coordinator of dissemination events: Marco Paladini
• Database manager: Michele Schiavinato
• Thanks to Alessandro Descovi for his help in the website management

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