When talking about Venice one cannot ignore the forced adaptation to the tourist monoculture, its subjection to economic exploitation and the many ways this cycle afflicts the city. Starting from a paradoxical context, as a resource to activate discussions and thoughts, we will focus on better understanding what our relationship with the city and its inhabitants could be. In a non-linear affair with the multiple faces of Venice, we will explore the collective imaginary of this famous symbolic place. The aftermath of a city that had to reproduce these myths to keep up with the non-existing expectations of tourists and travelers, the ruins this touristification leaves behind and the real threats that follow this cycle.

What are the consequences of the accumulating formation of the extractive tourism model, that results in a plethora of issues spread across the territory. In which ways are the communities that are capable of designing socio-economical alternatives to the hegemony of the corporate tourism industry shaping the city? In the context of urban coexistence, how can the concept of re-existence (through resistance) be interpreted? How does a city cope with the absence (and yet over-presence) of people, when it sees its community disappearing? And how does the reality of the city, that after its commodification now resides in the in-betweenness of communities, memory and quiet resistance, relates to the continuous reproduction of itself?

“Nothing to See Here” is a research project located in the city of Venice, initiated by the students of the Design Department
of the Sandberg Institute. We want to investigate the plurality of the multifaceted city of Venice and the physical consequences of touristification which are changing the identity of not only this city, but also many others, through our own various individual perspectives as artists/designers and in collaboration with local voices.

When talking about Venice one cannot ignore the forced adaptation to the tourist monoculture, its subjection to economic exploitation and the many ways this cycle afflicts the city. Starting from a paradoxical context, as a resource to activate discussions and thoughts, we will focus on better understanding what our relationship with the city and its inhabitants could be. In a non-linear affair with the multiple faces of Venice, we will explore the collective imaginary of this famous symbolic place. The aftermath of a city that had to reproduce these myths to keep up with the non-existing expectations of tourists and travelers, the ruins this touristification leaves behind and the real threats that follow this cycle.

What are the consequences of the accumulating formation of the extractive tourism model, that results in a plethora of issues spread across the territory. In which ways are the communities that are capable of designing socio-economical alternatives to the hegemony of the corporate tourism industry shaping the city? In the context of urban coexistence, how can the concept of re-existence (through resistance) be interpreted? How does a city cope with the absence (and yet over-presence) of people, when it sees its community disappearing? And how does the reality of the city, that after its commodification now resides in the in-betweenness of communities, memory and quiet resistance, relates to the continuous reproduction of itself?

“Nothing to See Here” is a research project located in the city of Venice, initiated by the students of the Design Department
of the Sandberg Institute. We want to investigate the plurality of the multifaceted city of Venice and the physical consequences of touristification which are changing the identity of not only this city, but also many others, through our own various individual perspectives as artists/designers and in collaboration with local voices.

We

did

a

research

trip

to

Venice

that

Nicolo

and

I

organized.