(Future) Paradise Gardens

Biennale Gherdëina 10, (Future) Paradise Gardens, curated by Samuel Leuenberger, opens this month. The 10th edition of the biennale invites us into terrains both tender and turbulent—where gardens, and their often fragile or absent ecosystems, become symbols of survival, love, and the possibility of a more just future. Initially conceived as a reflection on the garden as a site of care and cultivation, the exhibition has evolved into a more open and expansive field where many artists move beyond the garden’s leitmotif, engaging with broader cultural imaginaries that orbit questions of nature and our human presence within it.

Largely composed of newly commissioned works, the exhibition is inspired from a series of conceptual chapters. These explore the garden as both a constructed and contested space—at times present, at times absent—through symbolic, metaphorical, and emotional lenses. The themes unfold across notions of “Commoning’, “Divine Love and Growth,” the “Violent Garden,” “Queer Ecology,” the “Botanical,” and “Gardens as Spaces for Reflection and Poetry,” while also addressing industrial and extractive forces that stand in tension with these ideas.

Participating artists are: Chanelle Adams, Andrius Arutiunian, Jacopo Belloni, Alice Bucknell, Leonardo Bürgi Tenorio, Giulia Cenci, Sandra Knecht, Dorota Gawęda & Eglė Kulbokaitė, Judith Neunhäuserer, Walter Niedermayr, Masatoshi Noguchi, Gabriela Oberkofler, Lydia Ourahmane, Gregor Prugger & Leonora Prugger, Ana Prvački, Augustas Serapinas, Bas Smets + Eliane Le Roux, Bosco Sodi, Constantin Thun, Kelly Tissot, Álvaro Urbano, Yuyan Wang, Evelyn Taocheng Wang, and Pedro Abu Wirz & Michael Marder.

The opening on Saturday, May 30 begins at 10am. in front of Sala Trenker in Ortisei with a welcome and institutional presentation, followed by a curator-led tour. At 1pm., Piazza S. Antonio hosts a culinary intervention by Sandra Knecht and Leonardo Bürgi Tenorio. In the afternoon, the programme continues in St. Cristina at 3pm. with a guided tour, accompanied by a performance by Ana Prvački, Applied Honey Proverbs. A folkloric dip into proverbs from around the world, where ecology meets language and wisdom accumulates in drip. The day proceeds with a tour to Mount Juac from 6–8pm. and concludes with a 10th anniversary celebration at the Juac hut from 8–10pm. with music, food & drinks.

On Sunday, May 31 at 10:30am., the biennial hosts its Vernissage for Kids, presenting a workshop by and with Pedro Wirz and Michael Marder titled 'Making, Unmaking, and Remaking Us'.

Throughout the summer, (Future) Paradise Gardens invites visitors to engage with contemporary artworks as tools for personal exploration and reflection on our socio-ecological future. The public programme will include guided tours, workshops, studio visits, hikes, talks, and performances.

Collaborations also remain central to extending the biennial’s impact and reach internationally. A highlight this year is Dormancy by Jacopo Belloni, recipient of the 14th edition of the Italian Council (2025), a programme of the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity. The project works with institutions such as Halle Nord in Geneva, Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, Triangle-Astérides in Marseille, Galeria Municipal do Porto, and GAMeC—Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo. A collaboration with the Kaunas Biennial has been possible through the reciprocal support of the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Lithuanian Culture Institute. This edition of the biennale also partners with Museion—Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Bolzano/Bozen, linking city and valley through the works by Evelyn Taocheng Wang.

For its 10th edition, anniversary publication, BG1–10. Biennale Gherdëina Anniversary is released. Published by Institut Ladin Micurá de Rü, it traces the biennial’s development over two decades and celebrates its role as a catalyst for artistic innovation and cultural dialogue in the region. The book was launched during the opening week of the Venice Biennale and will be available in Val Gardena.

The catalogue for Biennale Gherdëina 10, (Future) Paradise Gardens, will be available from June 2026.

Media enquiries: Nicola Jeffs, nj@nicolajeffs.com and Siobhan Scott ss@nicolajeffs.com

Biennale Gherdëina is an international contemporary art festival in the heart of the Dolomites, Italy. Founded in 2008, the Biennale is organized by the Association Zënza Sëida, a non-profit cultural association dedicated to promoting culture as a vital resource for social well-being. Zënza Sëida is committed to the promotion, support, and production of contemporary art, viewing it as a universal language capable of stimulating critical thinking, expanding perspectives, and fostering new connections between people and the landscape.