The Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo converted former munitions storehouses on San Giacomo into exhibition spaces for its May 7 opening, The Art Newspaper reported. One features Matt Copson’s solo show “Fanfare/Lament,” curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, complete with handcrafted kites, a musical score and laser projections. The second displays works from the foundation’s holdings by artists including Michael Armitage, Sarah Lucas, Victor Man and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, all running through September 12.
Site-specific commissions populate the outdoor areas of the 1.2-hectare island, according to the same account. Pamela Rosenkranz contributed “Old Tree (Pink Seas),” a vivid pink sculpture overlooking the lagoon, while Claire Fontaine installed “Patriarchy = CO2” from 2020. Hugh Hayden’s “Huff and a Puff” tilts a small chapel forward by 40 degrees, creating an unsettling presence amid the landscape.
The island, acquired in 2018 from a private banking company, previously served as a medieval monastery, pilgrim hospice, quarantine station, Napoleonic military site and later an Italian army depot before falling into ruin, foundation materials show. Restoration has emphasised sustainability and a circular economy, reflecting the renewable energy interests of Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo’s husband Agostino, who heads Asja Energy. The project aims to provide space for artistic research, residencies and encounters at a slower pace than central Venice.
This San Giacomo site constitutes the foundation’s third permanent location, joining the Turin headquarters that opened in a former industrial district in 2002 and the Palazzo Re Rebaudengo with its art park in Piedmont’s Guarene hills, the organisation stated. Established in 1995, the nonprofit has built a collection of approximately 1,500 contemporary works through direct artist dialogues since the early 1990s, according to profiles of the collector. It also maintains a nomadic programme in Spain that stages exhibitions in Madrid.
“Supporting artists and their creations has always been at the core of the Sandretto Foundation’s mission,” Sandretto Re Rebaudengo said. Initial public access to the island remains limited to guided tours by appointment and events tied to Biennales, with an on-request vaporetto stop added on Line 12 linking Murano and Burano. A docking pier is under construction to improve visitor access from the Giardini, roughly 20 minutes away by boat.
The foundation first engaged with Venice through a 1995 exhibition at the Arsenale during the Biennale, its own records note. The new venue hosted preliminary performances in 2022 and 2024 before the full opening aligned with the current edition’s focus on global contemporary production. Additional programming, including photographic documentation of the restoration by Giovanna Silva and Antonio Fortugno, forms part of the inaugural presentation.
