The third edition of Homo Faber brings over 300 master artisans from around the world to Venice. On the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, and throughout the city, from September 1 to 30
Homo Faber: The Journey of Life. The third edition of Homo Faber in Venice showcases craftsmanship as art to the world on the island of San Giorgio. From September 1 to 30, 2024, more than three hundred master artisans from fifty countries will exhibit over 800 works, displaying a surprising variety of talents, techniques, and innovative approaches on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Organized by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship in collaboration with the Fondazione Cologni and the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Homo Faber 2024 is directed by Luca Guadagnino and architect Nicolò Rosmarini.
“A journey along the entire path of human life,” explains Alberto Cavalli, General Manager of Fondazione Cologni and Executive Director of the Michelangelo Foundation. Guadagnino’s craftsmanship symbolizes affections and recounts deep bonds that span time, marked by the crucial moments of our evolution, the stations of the exhibition path: Birth, Childhood, Celebration, Inheritance, Love, Journeys, Nature, Dreams, Dialogues, and Afterlife. Birth, childhood, love, dreams, journeys, relationships: Homo Faber invites us to live, play, and breathe every moment, starting from the Borges Labyrinth mirrored by a glass as large as the palace, continuing into the Palladian Cenacle, crossing the lush park to the dreamlike Gandini Pool, where art becomes a narrative—through the fashion of Azzedine Alaïa—of what we will be after life.
Meetings, live workshops and laboratories, breakfasts, gourmet experiences, and sunset aperitifs are the experiences that the Homo Faber program offers visitors. On Sunday, September 29, the celebration of the new MAM, Maestro d’Arte e Mestieri (Master of Arts and Crafts), an honor created by Fondazione Cologni under the High Patronage of the Presidency of the Republic, will ideally conclude the event.
The journey of life between art and craftsmanship on the island of San Giorgio
The theme The Journey of Life, based on an idea by Hanneli Rupert, Vice President of the Michelangelo Foundation, is the common thread of the entire event: birth, the discovery of love, dreams, and life after death—everything is witnessed by a world of objects forged by the talent of artisan hands.
The exhibition path begins at the Borges Labyrinth, a symbol of destiny, and continues through the Cypress Cloister, the place of birth, where a large board game inspired by Venice enchants visitors with twenty embroideries by different artists from all over the world.
The Palladian Cenacle, in honor of its history as an ancient refectory, celebrates conviviality and the transmission of knowledge through a large and symbolic banquet, paying tribute to the tradition of the shared meal—a moment in human life that represents not only nourishment but also encounter, cultural exchange, and continuity between generations.
The celebration is a metaphor for the bond between past and future, a ritual that passes down knowledge, values, and traditions through food and social interaction. In this context, the artisans and their artifacts intertwine with the history of the place, creating a dialogue between the ancient and the contemporary, between the materiality of objects and the intangibility of human bonds.
The Foundation’s garden is the station of affections, with the Sala Bianca dedicated to courtship—the sweetness, elegance, and tension of the first encounter, where every detail speaks of glances, gestures, and promises—and the Tapestry Room, which bears the colors of love with its sighs, passions, tenderness, and complicity, as a tribute to the beauty of romantic sentiment in all its facets.
The Padiglione delle Capriate, characterized by its exposed wooden architectural structure, will host the Tea-room, designed to evoke the theme of the Journey—a place of physical and mental refreshment where one can stop and be transported by sensory and cultural exploration.
The former printing house that once housed the printing activities of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini becomes the space for the crafts of nature. The world of craftsmanship dialogues with natural elements, showing how raw materials—wood, stone, vegetable fibers—can be transformed by the skilled hands of artisans into powerful and delicate works of art, much like the nature that surrounds us, in an environment that highlights the importance of sustainability and care for the planet.
The Gandini Pool represents the theme of dreams. An already evocative space linked to water and reflection, a symbol of depth and introspection, it now becomes a place suspended between reality and imagination, where the installation and artisan creations evoke the dream—the boundary between the real and the unreal, the dimension where everything is possible.
The flow of emotions and inner visions characterizes the final stage, the former hall of the Nautical Institute, which represents the theme of the end of existence with delicacy and depth, through works that speak of transition, memory, and legacy. The objects and installations, the result of collaboration between artisans and artists, suggest death as a transition toward a new form of existence.
Homo Faber in the City
Homo Faber: The Journey of Life expands into Venice and the islands of Murano and Burano with the second edition of the Homo Faber in Città program. Thanks to the collaboration with Confartigianato, CNA Venezia, Consorzio Promovetro Murano, and Venezia da Vivere, it will be possible to visit over seventy artisan workshops for free throughout the city during the entire month of September.
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The initiative will give visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Venetian craftsmanship, meet and listen to master artisans, and discover ancient trades and ultra-innovative techniques. It will be possible to visit the furnaces of Murano, learn the secrets of woodworking, gold leaf, and textiles, and admire the extraordinary skills of the artisans who have made Venice one of the world capitals of the beautiful and well-made.
A rich program of free exhibitions and events for Homo Faber in Città will provide the public with opportunities for conviviality and in-depth exploration throughout the month of September. The appointments will be featured weekly in the Venezia da Vivere newsletter.
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Useful information for visiting Homo Faber 2024
- Where does it take place?
The Island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice is a monumental complex of great historical and artistic significance. It is located directly across from St. Mark’s Square. - How to reach the island of San Giorgio?
Lines 2 and 4.1/4.2 departing from Zattere, Piazzale Roma, the Santa Lucia railway station, and San Zaccaria (St. Mark’s Square). - How much is the ticket? What does it include?
The ticket for Homo Faber costs 20 euros, with discounts for students, seniors over 65, and groups. Children up to 12 years old enter for free. - Tickets can be purchased online or at the ticket offices located at the entrance. The ticket includes access to all ten thematic exhibitions and live demonstrations, as well as access to the free shuttle service connecting the island of San Giorgio to St. Mark’s Square (San Zaccaria).
- Opening hours
Open every day from September 1 to 30, from 10 AM to 7 PM, with last entry at 6 PM.
Article by Lucia Pecoraro.
Photos © Laura Scarpa and Homo Faber.
