Animali in Città, 2003 | Studio Will Kwan

Animali in Città, 2003
Installation with found sculpture and performance intervention.
Produced in collaboration with Animali in Città, a Venetian animal rights activist group.

Commissioned artwork for VVÂ² Vivere Venezia 2 Recycling the Future, an exhibition of site-specific artworks for the 2003 Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy. Curated by Angela Vettese.

Animali in Città (Mario)
Found sculpture made from vaporetto parts, paint, 78” x 132” x 60”
Animali in Città (Mario) is a found sculpture made by Animali in Città activists in 2001 depicting a piglet that the group rescued from Venice’s annual Regatta Storica festivities. Traditionally given as the prize for the regatta team finishing in fourth-place, the animal is paraded in a crate along the Canal Grande as part of the celebrations. Due to a lack of green space in Venice, the activists housed the rescued piglet, whom they named Mario, in the city’s vaporetto yards until a permanent home was found for it outside of Venice. To commemorate Mario’s liberation, Animali in Città activists built a sculpture of the piglet using salvaged vaporetto roofs that they acquired from the workers in the vaporetto yard. Animali in Città (Mario) was installed in the Biennale entrance to the Giardini for the duration of the 2003 Biennale exhibition.

Animali in Città (corteo)
Performance intervention with Venetian dog owners and dogs during the vernissage days of the 2003 Biennale di Venezia
Animali in Città (corteo) is a performance intervention that replicates parades organized intermittently by Animali in Città activists as social gatherings and to raise awareness about animal welfare and environmental issues pertinent to local residents. During the vernissage days of the Biennale, Animali in Città activists and other area residents went for walks with their dogs through the Giardini exhibition grounds. The Giardini, a rare park space in Venice, is restricted to Biennale ticket-holders when an art or architecture exhibition is on display.

Vaporetto yard in the Sant’Elena neighborhood of Venice, Italy.

Animali in Città activist with Mario, a piglet that the group rescued from Venice’s annual Regatta Storica.

A sculpture made from salvaged vaporetto roofs, made by Animali in Città activists.

Animali in Città (Mario), 2003. Installation view, VVÂ² Vivere Venezia 2 Recycling the Future, 2003 Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy.

Animali in Città activist planning Animali in Città (corteo).

Animali in Città activists parading through Venice to raise awareness about animal welfare and environmental issues.

Animali in Città (corteo). Performance view, VVÂ² Vivere Venezia 2 Recycling the Future, 2003 Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy.