Florentina Holzinger's 'SeaWorld Venice' Transforms Austrian Pavilion at 2026 Venice Biennale

The Austrian Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale transforms into a dynamic ecosystem with Florentina Holzinger's 'SeaWorld Venice,' under the curation of Nora-Swantje Almes. This initiative, featuring installation, performance, and site-specific Études throughout Venice and its lagoon, is scheduled from May 9 to November 22, 2026. Holzinger, recognized for her intense exploration of the body, focuses on water as a significant element—ecological, political, and symbolic. The pavilion functions as a machinic organism, relying on audience engagement to sustain its operation. The Études, which Holzinger has been crafting since 2020, consist of brief, high-energy performances in public areas. Almes emphasizes water's dual nature: essential resource, controlled commodity, danger, and emblem of change, integral to Venice's essence and vulnerability. This project reinvents the concept of exhibitions, prioritizing fixed hours and visitor interaction over traditional theater formats. Each day will offer a unique experience, as the audience completes the puzzle. Almes collaborated with Holzinger on 'Harbour Étude' for Bergen Kunsthall in 2024.