Venetian masks and costumes are the symbols of Carnival! The Art Collection of the Historical Archives of Contemporary Arts-ASAC of La Biennale di Venezia preserves hundreds of extraordinary works in the Set and Costume Sketches section; works that have been collected from dozens of productions and that we have chosen to highlight, selecting a large part of them for the 4th International Kids’ Carnival. An enjoyable and amusing way to share this common legacy of masterpieces with an audience of all ages.

 

The exhibition design displays original sketches, full-scale reproductions, tableaux with various interpretations of the same subject, “macro” reproductions, some of them silhouettes, “flying” objects. The authors include great artists such as Guttuso, Lanza, Maccari, Lecoq, Pontini, Capuzzo, Luzzati, Ponnelle, Matsoukis, Wittstein, Casorati, Bray, Copertini and many others.

There are also video screens that reproduce sequences of images associated with works from which musical excerpts canl be heard; among them Allez-hop! (Berio-Ponnelle), Treemonisha (Scott Joplin-Copertini), Idomeneo (Mozart-Casorati), The Miraculous Mandarin (Bartòk-Ponnelle), Lady Macbeth of Minsk (Shostakovich-Guttuso), and Billy Budd (Britten-Guttuso).
 

 

A surprise for kids... of all ages! It’s the Costume-Making workshop that is now set up in one of the spaces at Ca’ Giustinian, where it is possible to make a Carnival costume, or have it made for you, in just a few minutes using simple or “poor” materials, in the style of some of the sketches on exhibit. With the help of our staff members, everyone will have the chance to wear a new and original costume!