ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

CYFEST 17 in Venice Explores Technology's Creative and Destructive Forces

festival-fair · 2026-07-27

The International Media Art Festival CYFEST 17, named Natura Naturans: Human Beings, Nature, Landscape, is taking place at CREA – Cantieri del Contemporaneo on Giudecca Island in Venice until August 31, 2026. This event, organized by the CYLAND Foundation in partnership with Ca' Foscari University of Venice, CSAR, and Weave, showcases more than twenty contemporary artists alongside early 20th-century pieces from the Frants collection. It delves into the intersections of technology and climate issues. Highlights include Tuula Närhinen’s installation featuring avian forms and Jaanika Peerna’s commentary on glacier melting. Additionally, the festival has released Afterwards. Art in the Time of Change, created with CURA, which examines art's reaction to technological advancements and Charles Renouvier's theories on uchronia.

Key facts

  • CYFEST 17 runs until August 31, 2026, at CREA – Cantieri del Contemporaneo on Giudecca Island, Venice.
  • The festival is organized by CYLAND Foundation with Ca' Foscari University, CSAR, and Weave.
  • The title is Natura Naturans: Human Beings, Nature, Landscape.
  • Over twenty contemporary artists are featured alongside early 20th-century works from the Frants collection.
  • CYLAND MediaArtLab was founded in 2007 by Frants Gallery as the first Russian media art lab-residency.
  • The exhibition follows a previous edition in Thessaloniki.
  • Works address climate change, plastic waste, glacier melting, and dystopian digital transformations.
  • The publication Afterwards. Art in the Time of Change was launched in collaboration with CURA.

Entities

Artists

  • Tuula Närhinen
  • Jaanika Peerna
  • Mariateresa Sartori
  • Dmitriy Shishov
  • Elena Gubanova
  • Ivan Govorkov
  • Anna Frants
  • Natalia Lyakh
  • AES+F
  • Andy Barrt
  • Alexei Kostroma

Institutions

  • CYLAND Foundation
  • Ca' Foscari University of Venice
  • Center for Russian, Central Asian and Caucasian Studies (CSAR)
  • Weave
  • Frants Gallery
  • CURA
  • CREA – Cantieri del Contemporaneo

Locations

  • Venice
  • Italy
  • Giudecca Island
  • Thessaloniki

Sources