La Venezia che non si vede / Unveiling the unseen – Photo: courtesy of Catalonia in Venice.

Venice 2017 – The Catalan Pavilion at the 57th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia invites visitors to explore a less obvious urban form of the city of canals as blind or visually impaired people experience it. Titled La Venezia che non si vede / Unveiling the Unseen, the project “is a proposal to civil society: a research on collective intelligence seeking universal accessibility and suggesting alternative ways to occupy public spaces, both physical and digital”. [Map]

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The project by Antoni Abad  offers a sensorial interpretation of the Italian city through an app, an exhibition and boat tours guided by blind people. La Venezia che non si vede / Unveiling the Unseen is promoted by The Institut Ramon Llull and curated by Mery Cuesta and Roc Parés.

THE APP – Abad works with digital communities where mobile phones take on an important role as means of social communication. He is creating a locative sound map of Venice using BlindWiki, an app created for people who are blind, but usable by anyone with a smartphone. Impressions of any part of the city can be registered and published using the app and can be listened to at any moment. “A true citizens’ network that improves the services to the community, and that is becoming an international network to share experiences, stories and thoughts about all that is not visible.”

The EXHIBITION conceptualized by Avanti-Avanti Studio at Cantieri Navali [Map] functions as a reception and information area. On show a subtitled documentary directed by Antoni Abad and produced by Daniele Zoco, and a tactile comic with haut-relief designs by awarded cartoonist Francesc Capdevila a.k.a. Max.

La Venezia che non si vede / Unveiling the Unseen comprises also 20 minutes BOAT TOURS that leave from the dock located in front of the exhibition space. Guided by blind people, passengers explore the city aboard a traditional Venetian rowboat. Tours are free for 4 passengers at a time. Info: www.blind.wiki/venezia / +39 342 5005393 [Map].

Photo by BlindWiki – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Photos: courtesy of Catalonia in Venice.