Invitation to the public opening on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at 5 pm
The “Arena for a Tree” is located on a pontoon in the Arsenale Nord and can be reached by lines 4.1, 4.2, 5.1 and 5.2 (ACTV stop “Bacini – Arsenale nord”) or on foot from Campo de la Celestia via the suspension bridge along the northern boundary wall of the Arsenale.
The Arena for a Tree is a further development of FOR FOREST: The Unending Attraction of Nature, Austria’s largest public art installation, in which 299 trees up to 14 meters high were planted on the soccer pitch of the Wörthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt in 2019. “Arena for a Tree” was first presented in 2021 on Münsterplatz in Basel with the accompanying exhibition Tree Connections at the Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger and in spring 2022 in the courtyard of the Swiss National Museum in Zurich. Venice is his third and final destination – and the first to include water as another important environmental element.
The European Cultural Center ECC in Venice was also interested in the “Arena for a Tree”. However, the search for a suitable location for the object, which weighs several tons, proved to be very difficult in Venice. Klaus Littmann investigated various locations over a period of three years until he found what he was looking for in the Arsenale Nord area. However, the arena will not be located on land, but on the water, on a pontoon. The internationally renowned landscape architect Enzo Enea has once again selected a tree that he considers suitable for absorbing the climatic changes in Venice.
The arena on the water is likely to cause quite a stir, especially as this year’s Biennale di Venezia begins just a few days after the opening. The art intervention will be on display until July 31. Everyone is cordially invited to the opening on April 16 from 5 pm.
The Arena for a Tree was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger | KBH.G and the collaboration with ECC Italy (European Cultural Centre) as well as the generous support of the Venice City Council and the port authorities.
more about ARENA FOR A TREE, Basel 2021 / Zurich 2022 / Venice 2024
