Cultural walking tour in Venice

Venice, Italy

37th ENCATC Cultural Happy Hour goes to Venice!

Brussels, Paris, Barcelona and now Venice! In a Cultural Happy Hour first, an evening of cultural discovery and networking was organised in Italy.

On 16 May, the 37th ENCATC Cultural Happy Hour organised a walking tour through the city’s public installations displayed for the 57th edition of the Venice Art Biennale. Held in the framework of the first ENCATC Capacity Building and Youth in Action days (15-17 May 2017 in Venice), the Cultural Happy Hour was an opportunity for participants to discover the city through the contemporary art installations by renowned international artists and enjoy networking in a convivial and informal setting.

The highlight from the walking tour was seeing “Support” by the Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn. Emerging from the grand canal, it features two large hands appearing to prop up the Ca' Sagredo Hotel. The massive sculpture aims to make a statement on the effects of global warming: “Venice is a floating art city that has inspired cultures for centuries, but to continue to do so it needs the support of our generation and future ones, because it is threatened by climate change and time decay,” has remarked the artist. 

This initiative of ENCATC, launched in early 2013, the Cultural Happy Hours aims to catalyse international partnerships, cross sectorial exchanges, collaborations and knowledge transfers among cultural organisations, networks, international and European associations based in Brussels; stimulate the encounter among operators from the cultural, education and business sectors; strengthen the Belgian artistic and cultural scene and enlarging its audience to a wider European and international public; and create links among the European institutions, organisations and cultural networks based in Brussels. 

Cultural walking tour in Venice