Red Regatta: 52 Boats with Red Sails Navigate Venice Lagoon

Melissa McGill's public art project 'Red Regatta' features 52 boats with red sails in Venice. Co-organized by Magazzino Italian Art Foundation and curated by Chiara Spangaro with project manager Marcella Ferrari, the project includes a final sail on September 15 from Burano to Torcello. The red color symbolizes love for Venice, danger from climate change, and references Venetian red used by Titian and Tintoretto. It is the first artwork registered as a 'Clean Regatta' for ocean protection. Sails were hand-painted by McGill with IUAV students. Boats are traditional 'vela al terzo' models owned by members of Associazione Vela al Terzo. A terrestrial component will appear at Mazzoleni gallery's stand at Artissima in Turin, followed by a solo show in London in spring 2020. An interactive program 'Open House' on September 14 at San Lorenzo church, organized with Ocean Space, includes panels on lagoon conservation. McGill will moderate a conversation between Giorgio Righetti and Silvio Testa.