16th International Kids’ Carnival from February 22 to March 2

The 16th International Kids’ Carnival of La Biennale di Venezia will be held from Saturday 22 February to Sunday 2 March 2025, hosting at its headquarters the immersive installation KOTO BA Paths: Between the Rooms of Latency and the Non-Places of Pedagogical Generativity, curated by Emiliana Mannese. There will also be workshops inspired by Marco Polo’s travels in China and by the special exhibition Gulnur Mukazhanova. Memory of Hope, curated by Luigia Lonardelli and located in Sala delle Colonne at Ca’ Giustinian,of which there will also be guided tours. Finally, the programme will feature the traditional workshops for schools and families at Ca’ Giustinian and Dance workshops for schools at the Arsenale.

All the activities are free of charge, with reservation required.

A new event in this edition of La Biennale Kids’ Carnival will be the immersive installation KOTO BA Paths: Between the Rooms of Latency and the Non-Places of Pedagogical Generativity, in the Laboratorio delle Arti (Ca’ Giustinian). This is an original project in which the participants will walk through the “Forest and Universe of Pedagogical Generativity”, to stimulate the senses and reflect on their path of personal growth. They will be able to participate in the creative workshop Generative Talents where they will make visual and narrative maps to express desires, talents and future projects. The project was conceived by Prof. Emiliana Mannese, Chair holder of the UNESCO Chair “Generative Pedagogy and Educational Systems to Tackle Inequality”.

Further workshops inspired by the travels of Marco Polo will be organised, dedicated to the special exhibition Gulnur Mukazhanova. Memory of Hope curated by Luigia Lonardelli, on display in Sala delle Colonne at Ca’ Giustinian and extended for the occasion through 28 February. There will be three days (26, 27 and 28 February) in which the artist herself will lead workshops that will give participants the opportunity to actively take part in a collective wool felting process. There will also be storytelling journeys titled In the footsteps of the dragon Long (for kids ages 6 to 8 years old) and guided tours for all ages of the exhibition Memory of Hope on February 22 and 23.

In addition to these new projects, confirming their participation are the Fondazione Štěpán Zavřel of Sarmede (TV) with the workshop for families La parata delle Chimere (The Parade of Fantasies) curated by Élodie Brondoni, the Fondazione Veronesi from Milan with the workshops from the program titled Io Vivo Sano – Alimentazione e Movimento, the Università degli Studi di Milano with the mathematics workshop I gatti al mercato del Pesce (Cats at the Fish Market) organized by Professors Paola Morando and Maria Luisa Spreafico, the National Institute of Statistics which, with Prof. Paolo Pellizzari of the Università Ca’ Foscari, will present the mathematics and statistics workshop Omero era uno statistico pop! (Homer was a pop statistician!). Also confirmed this year are the Music workshops by Il Violino Colorato from Rome, the storytelling-artistic activities by MUS.E of Florence and the creative initiatives of the German Centre of Venetian Studies, which for this edition will offer a workshoptitled Specie invasive (Invasive Species) which in a joyful, aesthetic as well as critical ecological act, will transform bodies into fluorescent invasive creatures (an initiative organised by STUDIOGRÜNDERKIRFEL). Many other Music, Yoga and creativity workshops will be organised by the Biennale Educational team.

This edition of the International Kids’ Carnival will be enriched by the participation of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, which will continue during La Biennale’s 2026 Carnival. For the 2025 edition, there will be a presentation of the educational toolkit “Equality in the field. Sports beyond every stereotype”, organised as part of the Education Programme Gen26 and Human Rights of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 with Terre des Hommes Italia Onlus. The common goal is raise awareness in young people of the themes of gender equality, bullying and disability, starting with the contexts of sports, as well as culture and creativity. The toolkit also includes a phase of training for operators, and can be used in meetings with young men and women. 

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Immersive installation at Ca’ Giustinian (San Marco 1364/a, Venice)

• KOTO BA Paths: between the Rooms of Latency and the Non-Places of Pedagogical Generativity: 22-23 February and 1-2 March, 3 pm and 4:30 pm

Workshop at Ca’ Giustinian (San Marco 1364/a, Venice)

• Pedagogical Workshop of Generative Orientation – Generative Talents​
  22-23 February and 1-2 March, 3 pm and 4:30 pm
• Musical workshop - Symphony of Colours
  22-23 February, 3 pm and 4:30 pm
• Storytelling Path - Sulle orme del drago Long (In The Footsteps of Dragon Long)
  22 February, 3 pm
• Artistic storytelling workshop – Air, earth, water, fire​
  22 February, 3 pm and 4:30 pm
• Storytelling Journey – Taccuino nomade (Nomadic Sketchbook)
  22 February, 4:30 pm
• Creative workshop – Il Giramondo (The World Traveller)
  22 February 4:30 pm, 23 February 3 pm
• Guided tour to the exhibition Gulnur Mukazhanova. Memory of Hope
  22-23 February, 5 pm
• Storytelling Path – Taccuino nomade (Nomadic Sketchbook)
  23 February, 3 pm
• Creative workshop – La parata delle chimere (The Parade of Fantasies)
  23 February, 3:30 pm
• Storytelling Path - Sulle orme del drago Long (In the Footsteps of Dragon Long) 
  23 February, 4:30 pm
• Guided tour at the exhibition Gulnur Mukazhanova. Memory of Hope
  26-27-28 February, 4 pm, followed by workshop with artist Gulnur Mukazhanova
• Pedagogical workshop of generative orientation – Generative Talents​
  1-2 March, 3 pm and 4:30 pm
• Musical workshop - Sinfonia dei colori (Symphony of Colours)
  1 March, 3 pm and 4:30 pm
• Hands-on artistic workshop – L’arcobaleno dei linguaggi (The Rainbow of Languages)​
  1-2 March, 3 pm
• Creative workshop – Specie invasive (Invasive Species)
  1 March 4:30 pm, 2 March 3 pm
• Creative workshop – Il Giramondo (The World Traveller)
  1-2 March, 4:30 pm
• Creative workshop – Specie invasive (Invasive Species)
  2 March, 3 pm
• Yoga and music workshop – Yoga musica e fantasia (Yoga music and imagination)​
  2 March, 3 pm and 4:30 pm

Exhibition Gulnur Mukazhanova. Memory Of Hope at Ca’ Giustinian, Sala delle Colonne (San Marco 1364/a, Venice)
Free admission. Open every day from 10 am to 6 pm, through 28 February.

To get to Ca’ Giustinian, from Piazzale Roma and from the Train Station: vaporetti ACTV line 1, San Marco Vallaresso stop; from the Tronchetto, line 2, San Zaccaria stop.

Reservation required: telephone +39 041 5218828, promozione@labiennale.org

The International Kids’ Carnival is a project by La Biennale di Venezia which since 2010 has been organised for kids, schools and their teachers and families, to foster youth creativity and participation and maintain a constant direct, practical and active dialogue with the participants.