Faustin Linyekula Activates Venice's Long-Closed Galeazze Shipyard for Biennale Performance
On May 5 and 6, 2026, Faustin Linyekula, a choreographer from Congo, unveiled 'The Galeazze Project' at the historic Galeazze shipyard in Venice's Arsenale Nord, a location that has remained closed since World War II. This performance, commissioned by Scuola Piccola Zattere (SPZ), can host 500 attendees each night within a 32,291-square-foot open-air space. Curated by Eduardo Lazzeri, it features local students and professionals from Venice, alongside Cosmogram, who collaborated with trumpeter Heru Shabaka-Ra on the score. This initiative is part of the Venice Biennale 2026, which starts on May 9. At 52, Linyekula is known for his work in significant venues, advocating for collective creation and leading Studios Kabako in the Democratic Republic of Congo while also teaching theater at NYU Abu Dhabi.
Key facts
- Faustin Linyekula performed 'The Galeazze Project' on May 5 and 6, 2026, in Venice's Galeazze shipyard.
- The shipyard, built in the 16th century, had been inaccessible since World War II and never open to the public.
- The performance was commissioned by Scuola Piccola Zattere (SPZ), a Venice-based nonprofit.
- Eduardo Lazzeri curated the project.
- The work involved students from a local performing arts academy, Venice-based professionals, and music label Cosmogram with trumpeter Heru Shabaka-Ra.
- It is a collateral event of the 2026 Venice Biennale, which opens May 9.
- The city partnered with the International Private Committees for the Safeguarding of Venice to restore the shipyard.
- Linyekula runs Studios Kabako in the DRC, offering arts education and water purification.
- He is a visiting theater professor at NYU Abu Dhabi, teaching remotely due to the Iran-U.S. war.
- The Biennale's central exhibition 'In Minor Keys' was curated by the late Koyo Kouoh.
Entities
Artists
- Faustin Linyekula
- Heru Shabaka-Ra
- Alphonse Tiérou
- Koyo Kouoh
- Anne Imhof
- Éric Vuillard
- V.S. Naipaul
- Cosimo Ferrigolo
- Dirk Bell
- Edoardo Lazzari
- Irene Calderoni
Institutions
- Scuola Piccola Zattere (SPZ)
- International Private Committees for the Safeguarding of Venice
- Cosmogram
- Studios Kabako
- NYU Abu Dhabi
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Tate Modern
- Sharjah Biennial
- RAW Material Company
- Guest Artists Space (G.A.S) Foundation
- Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute
- blaxTARLINES KUMASI
- Park Avenue Armory
- Arsenale Nord
- Scuola Piccola Zattere
- Artribune
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Arsenale Nord
- Galeazze
- Kisangani
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Kenya
- Nairobi
- Ivory Coast
- Abu Dhabi
- United Arab Emirates
- Berlin
- Germany
- New York
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom
- Sharjah
- Senegal
- Nigeria
- Ghana
- Campo de la Tana 2169, 30122 Venezia