Es Devlin is the artistic director of Homo Faber 2026. With “An Island of Light,” she will illuminate Venice and the island of San Giorgio from September 1 to 30, 2026, to promote artisans from around the world
Over 400 master artisans from 70 countries will be illuminated by light. From September 1 to 30, 2026, the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice becomes An Island of Light for the fourth edition of Homo Faber, under the artistic direction of British artist and designer Es Devlin.
15 immersive installations will tell the story of the complexity of the work of weavers, sculptors, ceramists, goldsmiths, and master glassmakers—spatial narratives allowing the public to discover and experience works, materials, and processes firsthand.
The event, which brings hundreds of master artisans and audiences from all over the world to the city every two years, is one of the most anticipated events of 2026, confirming Venice as the capital of fine craftsmanship and an international benchmark for the creativity of artistic crafts.
“I have spent the last thirty years collaborating with musicians, choreographers, composers, librettists, playwrights, and artisans. Becoming the co-author of a series of installations alongside 400 of the world’s most expert artisans in the gardens and Palladian buildings of the legendary island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice is an extraordinary privilege, a great adventure,” Devlin explains in an interview with Designboom.
Following the monumental kinetic installation Library of Light designed for the Salone del Mobile at the Pinacoteca di Brera and the monolithic ring for YSL in the Agafay desert, Es Devlin has recently surprised the world and taken social media by storm with Library of Us, a large, luminous, rotating bookshelf overlooking the ocean. Open to the public with 2,500 books on the beach, it was created during Miami Art Week to provide a space for reading, conversation, listening, meeting people, and reflection.
Es Devlin, the artist of collective worlds
Es Devlin’s installations invite people to enter the spaces, dissolving the barrier between the viewer and the creator. This practice, developed over thirty years of collaborations with artists such as Beyoncé, U2, and Lady Gaga, has transformed museums, opera houses, stadiums, and public squares worldwide into architectures of encounter that place human labor at the center.
An approach that aligns perfectly with Homo Faber: “Her interest in the work of artisans and her ability to transform creations into objects of beauty are perfectly in line with our mission,” explains Alberto Cavalli, Executive Director of the Michelangelo Foundation, in an interview with WWD.
An island of light and gestures
Fifteen immersive installations within the Palladian and Longhenian spaces of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini will create environments where masters work live. The public will be able to learn about tools and raw materials, discovering the techniques and dedication hidden behind the objects.
As in previous editions, 90 Young Ambassadors will guide the visitor experience: design and applied arts students selected from schools worldwide will accompany people through the installations, sharing the artisanal processes and the stories of the masters.
A celebration of beauty
Alberto Cavalli, General Director of the Michelangelo Foundation: “Homo Faber is not a fair, it is not an exhibition, but a celebration of beauty. And the biennial appointment of Homo Faber is just the spearhead of a constellation of events, actions,
and projects promoted by the Michelangelo Foundation. Homo Faber is first and foremost a cultural movement that celebrates the creative and conscious transformation of materials; it is the expression of the authenticity of places. We invite those who are not artisans to think, work, and live like an artisan: with meaning and awareness.”
Homo Faber 2026: An Island of Light
Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice
From September 1 to 30, 2026
Tickets available from spring 2026 at homofaber.com
Event promoted by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship in partnership with the Fondazione Giorgio Cini.
Article by Lucia Pecoraro and Laura Scarpa.
Cover: portrait of Es Devlin ph. Victor Picon.
Photos: Fondazione Giorgio Cini and Homo Faber 2024 ph. Settimo Cannatella, portrait of Es Devlin in her studio in North Dulwich, London ph. Anna Gordon, Library of Light by Monica Spezia, portrait of Es Devlin at the Library of Light by Es Devlin Studio, Library of Us for Faena Art by Sunn Studio, Dezeen.
