Sci-Fi Episode #1: PRELUDE Spreads Across Three Historic Trieste Venues

Trieste, the European Capital of Science 2020 and host of ESOF 2020, presents Sci-Fi episode #1: PRELUDE, a group exhibition exploring science fiction through works by seven international artists. Curated by Valentina Casacchia and organized by Milan-based agency The Knack Studio, the show runs until December 31 across three historic city locations: the Palazzo delle Poste (home to the Postal and Telegraph Museum of Mitteleuropa), the Mercato Coperto di Via Carducci (a 1930s market hall), and the Trieste Centrale railway station (built in 1857 under the Austro-Hungarian Empire). The exhibition coincides with the 18th edition of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, which originated in 2000 from the ashes of the historic International Science Fiction Film Festival of Trieste (1963–1982), Italy's first genre film festival. Artists include Tuomas A. Laitinen (glass sculpture), Sasha Litvintseva and Ben Rivers (films), Markus Selg (visionary works on technology and spirituality), Sarah Ancelle Schönfeld (printed cowhides referencing shamanic practices), Simón Vega (affichage of his Coachella installation Palm 3 World Station), and Suzanne Treister (watercolor prints and large-format affiches blending sci-fi with psychedelic new age aesthetics). The exhibition explores the intersection of art, science fiction, and historical architecture.