i venice - fabrica

A SOUVENIR FROM VENICE
It’s not the usual postcard or even a cliché Carnival1 mask, colored
Murano glass, super kitsch miniature gondola or straw hat with
“I Venice” written on it.
It is an editorial project that invites young writers and
videomakers to discover a different and amazing new city, and
to say that Venice, the real one, made of bricks and water, isn’t
sinking at all. In fact, a side of the city that you didn’t even know
existed is emerging.
VENICE NOW AND FOREVER
Romantic, fun, mysterious, wintry, summery, packed with
tourists, full of student spirit, ready for Carnival, cinematic, etc.
Is it even possible to find another perspective on Venice? To
see the city as it is once and for all and not as the destination of
thousands of tourists? The project, conducted by Fabrica and the
cultural association “Venice is not sinking” (founded with Studio
Camuffo), is attempting to do just that. The idea is an unusual
one: describing Venice through its administrative districts,
searching for the hidden identities of a city that has a thousand
and one faces.
DAVIDE BALLIANO. ITALIAN. PHOTOGRAPHER. CANNAREGIO.
What do you like most about Venice? At first glance Venice
seems like a huge tent built for tourists. It looks a bit like an
Italian Las Vegas – all gondolas and canals. The side of Venice
that I love most is light years away from this. To find it you must
go looking for it and get away from those damned tourist routes
where everyone is lined up.
What characteristic of Venice has made the biggest impression
on you? For me the power of Venice is in the details. It is a city
packed with tiny details that define the style and flavor of an
area. And another thing, as far as I have been able to make out,
Venice is a city in which the color green2 dominates. Everything
seems green to me: the door handles, the clotheslines, the water,
the shutters on houses and the trees, doors, boats...Venice is
definitely green.
What did you discover while exploring the Cannaregio district?
It’s hard to be impressed by Venice again and find new aspects,
perspectives and outlooks. But walking around Cannaregio I was
surprised when I saw the island that holds the cemetery. There’s
something about that vision that is both magnificent and dark.
CONRADO ALMADA. BRAZILIAN. VIDEOMAKER. SAN MARCO.
What did you think you would find in Venice? In Brazil people
think that Venice is a smelly city. Now that I am here I can
officially prove them wrong. As for the rest, the image we have
of Venice in Brazil isn’t too far from the reality: gondolas, canals,
bridges and a thousand “romantic” moments! It’s the ideal city
to bring a girl.
Why did you choose the San Marco district, where most of the
tourists are? I’ve always been scared of tourists. So this time,
instead of trying to avoid them by slipping into narrow alleys,
I decided to come face to face with them.
How did you do that? I made a video about them, about the
tourists. I tried to look at them from an ironic perspective,
highlighting their rituals, their clichés and the repetitiveness
with which they move around the city, always taking the same
photos and stopping to eat at the same places.
ANDY LUKE. ROMANIAN. WRITER. DORSODURO.
What did you think Venice would be like? I though that in Venice
you could only get around by boat or vaporetto, I didn’t think that
you could walk as well. The first time I went to Venice I wanted to
be cool so I didn’t buy a map of the city because it was something
I saw only tourists doing. I got lost and I walked around in circles
for a long time.
What do you think is the best thing about Venice? I think that
the best part of the city is hiding in the small alleys and the
deserted lanes. As I was wandering around I came across little
works of art on the walls of the city more than once. I’m not just
talking about old art or architecture, but also of extraordinary
examples of street art.
And what is the worst aspect? The ten thousand souvenir shops
that clog up the city. I don’t like plastic gondolas and I hate all the
objects without history made for tourists. The souvenirs in Venice
are really horrible, kitsch and also way too expensive.
What struck you about the Dorsoduro district? The smell of
wood that you can inhale in every corner. And then the port and
the abandoned areas... that is the Venice that I like.
“Venice is not sinking” isn’t just the name of an association
that aims to promote cultural projects in Venice. It is first and
foremost a battle cry, a communication of intent and a symbolic
answer to all those who think Venice is a dead city submerged in
water and a tide of tourists.
The organizers and founders have decided to put this statement
in black and white and it sounds a bit like “now we’ll show
you!” The project consists of a book and DVD pack. The book
is a collection of stories by six young Venetian writers and six
foreigners (or rather non-Venetians). Each has taken a different
district and analyzed it by walking all over and studying it day
and night for three full days. Then each one, using their own
particular style, has described what they saw in the form of
a literary reportage
In the DVD enclosed with the book, the challenge is handed to
young filmmakers and photographers. The result is an editorial
product that is completely different from the usual mix of dreamy
gondolas and sea gulls. They’ve walked all over the city looking
with an eye that is creative, unusual, irreverent, inquiring and
free from those conventional molds that are now obsolete and
have made Venice the icon of romanticism and tradition.
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