Performing MUVE: Venice museums become participatory spaces

Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia launches Performing MUVE in spring 2026, a program reimagining museums as dynamic, participatory spaces. The initiative, developed by MUVE Academy and MUVE Education, spans three venues: Museo Fortuny, Casa di Carlo Goldoni, and the new MUVEC – Casa delle Contemporaneità in Mestre. Four projects focus on the body as a tool for cultural access: 'Casa comune. Abitare il teatro, abitare la città' at Casa Goldoni, led by Mattia Berto; 'Corpo: Riscrivere lo spazio' at Museo Fortuny, a dance workshop for vulnerable women by choreographer Elena Ajani; 'Henriette' at Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei, a theatrical workshop by Sara Urban centering Henriette Nigrin as an autonomous figure rather than Mariano Fortuny's muse; and 'I Am MUVEment' at MUVEC, dance practices by Giulia Gemma Manfrotto connecting body and architecture. President Mariacristina Gribaudi emphasizes that heritage is dynamic and meaningful only through lived encounters. The project reflects a broader international shift toward museums as social and political spaces.