CANICULA in Venice

Fondazione In Between Art Film announces Canicula, a group exhibition opening on May 6, 2026, at the Complesso dell’Ospedaletto in Venice on the occasion of the 61st Venice Biennale.

Curated by Alessandro Rabottini and Leonardo Bigazzi—the Fondazione’s artistic director and curator, respectively—Canicula is the third and final chapter of the “Trilogy of Uncertainties,” a series of exhibitions initiated by Fondazione In Between Art Film that has seen the Complesso dell’Ospedaletto transformed each time into a form of cinematic architecture. Beginning in 2022 with Penumbra and continuing in 2024 with Nebula, for each show in the trilogy a different atmospheric phenomenon has been deployed in order to explore states of vision as metaphors for the human condition.

Canicula will premiere eight new site-specific video installations commissioned from Lawrence Abu Hamdan (1985, Jordan), Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti (1974, Italy/1972, Italy), Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk (1992, Ukraine/1993, Ukraine), Janis Rafa (1984, Greece), P. Staff (1987, United Kingdom), Wang Tuo (1984, China), Yuyan Wang (1989, China), and Maya Watanabe (1983, Peru). All eight works are commissioned and produced by Fondazione In Between Art Film, the initiative conceived by Beatrice Bulgari to promote the culture of moving images and to support international artists, institutions, and theorists in their explorations of the dialogue between disciplines and time-based media.

“Canicula,” the Latin term that translates as “dog days,” is widely used today to refer to the hottest days of summer, a period of the year that, in various ancient Mediterranean cultures, was associated with either great abundance or terrible ruin. Following on from Penumbra (2022) and Nebula (2024), Canicula will mark the end of a narrative arc that, over the course of three Venice Biennale cycles, has gradually charted the transition from a lack of light to a surfeit. While Penumbra explored the ambiguity of dim light and Nebula navigated a path through the disorientation of fog, Canicula will look at blinding brightness and scorching heat. These are conditions that, once again, deceive the senses and raise questions about the reliability of vision and the interpretations of reality that it yields.

The exhibition concept for Canicula is inspired by the phenomena of extreme light and heat as material and metaphorical frameworks, in which matter, people, and ideas are put under pressure. Image overload, information distortion, memory saturation, the abuse of power, and oppressive temperatures are taking societies—and, indeed, the Earth itself—to the very brink of collapse. The works in Canicula evoke the sensations associated with the overwhelming atmosphere of the present moment in which our bodies, minds, and politics are immersed. Within this context, the works engage with internal and external agents of consumption and erosion to ponder the irresolvable riddle of image production and its broader implications.

Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli and his Milanese studio 2050+ have once again been invited to interpret the curatorial concept through the exhibition design. The composite architecture of the Complesso dell’Ospedaletto in Venice––incorporating the Church of Santa Maria dei Derelitti, the frescoed concert room, the old pharmacy, and areas of the modern retirement home––will be transformed to welcome the newly commissioned video installations into a close visual and sonic dialogue.

Canicula will be accompanied by a cross-disciplinary symposium curated by Bianca Stoppani, curator of the Fondazione’s editorial and discursive programs. The symposium will involve the artists appearing in the exhibition and, via panels with international curators and thinkers, will expand the conversations around their practice.

For international media inquiries, please contact Sam Talbot: Matthew Brown, matthew@sam-talbot.com, T +44 (0) 7989 446557
For Italian media inquiries, please contact Lara Facco P&C: Lara Facco, lara@larafacco.com, T +39 349 2529989 / Marianita Santarossa, marianita@larafacco.com, T +39 333 422 4032

The cultural programme of Fondazione In Between Art Film is focused on the role of contemporary moving images and the support of international artists, institutions, and research centres exploring the dialogue between different disciplines. The Fondazione investigates the boundaries of time-based media—film, video, performance and installation—through commissioning and producing new works, organizing exhibitions and public programs, collaborating with international institutions, and producing editorial projects. The Fondazione continues and expands the work of the production company In Between Art Film, which from 2012–2019 supported video and filmic productions by international artists and directors.