Two apparently opposite systems coexist in Venice: the global contemporary art system and the world of traditional craftsmanship. How to address the contradiction
The symposium Nothing Human Is Alien to Me explores the contradiction between the global contemporary art system and the world of traditional craftsmanship, organized in June at IUAV, Cotonificio, by doctoral candidates Elena Compassi and Barış Gedizlioğlu, with scientific supervision by Angela Vettese.
The Biennale, international foundations, galleries, and cultural institutions place Venice at the center of global circuits of contemporary art. At the same time, a network of workshops, ateliers, and manufactories preserves skills related to the processing of wood, gold, leather, fabric, paper, and glass.
Artists, curators, collectors, sponsors, big names in finance, and international brands coexist with a city also made of workshops, manual labor, small-scale production, and above all, inhabitants.
Venice speaks two languages simultaneously: that of international art and that of artisanal production.
Nothing human is alien to me recalls the reflection contained in Hegel’s Lectures on Aesthetics, where art is described as the ability to embrace everything that belongs to the human experience. The organizers use this perspective to question the tensions running through the world of cultural production: local and international, contemporary and traditional, artistic and craftsmanship-based.
What role does making play today? What value does manual production have in a digital society?
The symposium brought together artists, scholars, and artisans in dialogue to reflect on the contemporary meaning of making as a practice of knowledge, responsibility, and transformation of the present.
The speakers
The program for the meeting features contributions from economist Stefano Micelli, visual artist and academic Laura Paoletti, visual artist Debra Werblud, and Irene Biolchini, curator, essayist, and professor of contemporary art.
The second day is dedicated to contemporary creatives who are also—strongly—artisans, such as Goga Mason, an artist and animator graduated from Brera, who expresses herself through avant-garde embroidery, a free and provocative creative act. Kevin Ferrari: master craftsman specializing in the art of jewelry. Lavinia Rizzi: writer, psychologist, and poet, who for thirty years led the historic Antica Legatoria Piazzesi (founded in 1851), guardian of unique bookbinding and hand-printing techniques.
Professionals in art engagement practices include architect Giulio Lattuada, gallerists Garance & Marion, driving forces behind the independent art space dedicated to contemporary graphic arts and supporting emerging international artists.
The artistic collective Pezzi di Carta focuses on rediscovering traditional art printing, engraving, and graphics. Laura Scarpa (Venezia da Vivere) discusses How to Build a Contemporary Craftsmanship Ecosystem, a reflection on the role of relationships among artisans, schools, foundations, and creative enterprises in building the Venice of the future.
The Program
June 25, 2026
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM General introduction
9:15 AM – 10:00 AM Introduction Gedizlioglu
10:30 AM – 11:45 AM Stefano Micelli
11:45 AM – 12:00 PM Break
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Laura Paoletti
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM Lunch break
3:00 PM – 4:15 PM Debra Werblud
4:15 PM – 5:30 PM Irene Biolchini
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM Final discussion
June 26, 2026
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM Introduction Compassi
10:15 AM – 10:45 AM Laura Scarpa
10:45 AM – 11:30 AM Giulio Lattuada
11:30 AM – 11:45 AM Break
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM Garance & Marion (Gallery)
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Lunch break
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM Pezzi di Carta, engraving
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM Goga Mason, embroidery
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM Lavinia Rizzi, Legatoria Piazzesi
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM Kevin Ferrari, jewelry
4:00 PM – 4:15 PM Break
4:15 PM – 5:30 PM Artisans’ collective table
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM Final discussion
One of the interesting aspects of the symposium is the commitment to creating a dialogue between worlds that are often described separately: art and craftsmanship, theory and practice, contemporary and traditional knowledge, research and production.
In Venice, these boundaries often appear more permeable than elsewhere: workshops collaborate with universities and schools. Students work with artisans. Designers and artists experiment with weaving, furnaces, bookbinderies, and specialized laboratories. Cultural foundations support projects spanning research, production, and experimentation.
In this context, making becomes a tool for understanding the present and imagining the future. The question circulating therefore also concerns Venice: how to make this heritage of skills, relationships, and knowledge visible and accessible?
Perhaps the answer lies precisely in the ability to recognize contemporary craftsmanship as an ecosystem composed of people, places, institutions, and ideas that produce culture, development, and transformation.
Nothing human is alien to me
Study Day / Conference
June 25 and 26, 2026, 9 AM – 6 PM
Cotonificio Auditorium
IUAV University of Venice
Free admission
ecompassi@iuav.it
ibgedizlioglu@iuav.it
Article by Laura Scarpa, photo of Angela Vettese by Marco Paris for Venezia da Vivere. On the cover: Debra Werblud.
