Sale Docks, Venice's Independent Art Space, Faces Eviction Threats

Senator Raffaele Speranzon of Fratelli d'Italia has threatened eviction against Sale Docks, a self-managed cultural center in Venice, along with the Morion and Rivolta social centers. Sale Docks was founded in 2007 through the occupation of a salt warehouse in Dorsoduro, and has paid an annual fee to the municipality since 2012. For nearly 20 years, it has been a hub for independent art and political activism. In an interview, member Marco Baravalle, a researcher, curator, and activist, discussed the space's evolution: it now hosts Biennalocene, an assembly of art workers organizing a general strike for autumn 2025; recently held a workshop with German artists Andreas Siekmann and Alice Creischer; and will open an exhibition titled "Contested Waters" curated by I-Yi Hsieh in October. Sale Docks also collaborates with local groups like the IUAV student assembly and XR Venice. Baravalle emphasized the importance of independence, citing the ability to host Palestinian curators from the OWNEH consortium without fear of censorship. He criticized "toxic philanthropy" and the precarization of artistic labor, and argued that the relationship between institutional and independent scenes should foster autonomy, not dependency.