Bottega Veneta partnership with Pier Luigi Nervi Foundation: a nocturnal encounter of art, architecture, and time

For the 2026 Venice Biennale, If All Time Is Eternally Present introduces an open-air format that turns Campo Manin into a cinematic stage from May 9th to June 7th. Presented by the Pier Luigi Nervi Foundation with support from Bottega Veneta, the project brings together moving image works by Tai Shani, Meriem Bennani & Orian Barki, and Kandis Williams, projected nightly onto the façade of Palazzo Nervi Scattolin.

A new rhythm enters the Venice Biennale after dark

Curated by Marta Barina and Chiara Carrera, the programme treats the piazza as both setting and subject, where architecture, image, and audience meet in real time. Works such as 2 Lizards (2020), A Travel Guide: Black Gothic in South Korean Horror (2025), and Shani’s evolving film cycle trace themes of identity, memory, and cultural exchange across geographies from New York to Rabat and London.

The modernist presence of Palazzo Nervi Scattolin anchors the project, its façade shifting into a luminous surface that links past ambitions with contemporary artistic voices. Under the creative direction of Louise Trotter, the initiative extends beyond sponsorship, shaping a more open, collective way of encountering art.

Here, the Biennale steps out into the city itself—where moving images flicker across stone, and the piazza becomes a gathering ground for shared attention, chance encounters, and quiet moments of discovery.