MURANO ILLUMINA IL MONDO

Murano Illumina il Mondo

Promoted by The Venice Glass Week and Comune di Venezia, Murano Illumina il Mondo (Murano Lights Up The World) is a project which – for the very first time – brings an exhibition project to St Mark’s Square, shining a spotlight on the significance and future of Murano glass.

Every evening from 24th November 2023 to 29th February 2024, Venice’s residents and visitors alike can admire the illumination of twelve chandeliers which are the result of the collaboration between twelve internationally celebrated artists and nine of Murano’s most prestigious glass furnaces. These original masterpieces, specifically created for the exhibition project, transform St Mark’s Square – one of the most beautiful and famous locations in the world – into the setting for a truly unique public art intervention.

Murano illumina il Mondo was made possible thanks to the generosity of the participating artists and furnaces and the collaboration and contribution of numerous sponsors, including: Pentagram Stiftung, Chahan Interior Design, Generali – The Human Safety Net, Bassetto Impianti and Select Aperitivo. Special thanks are also given to Servizio Produzioni Culturali del Comune di Venezia and Vela.

The artists and designers-who were selected by a Scientific Committee composed of Rosa Barovier Mentasti, glass historian, David Landau, Trustee of Pentagram Stiftung, and Chiara Squarcina, manager Area Attività Museali of the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia-have agreed to participate in the "Murano Illumina Il Mondo" project, sharing the goal of giving visibility to the island of Murano not only as a craft industry but also as a hotbed of new ideas and an international center of experimentation: they are Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg, Marcantonio Brandolini d'Adda, Federica Marangoni, Michael Craig-Martin, Ritsue Mishima, Cornelia Parker, Maria Grazia Rosin, Silvano Rubino, Lino Tagliapietra, Giorgio Vigna, Pae White joined by pupils of the "Abate Zanetti" School of Murano. The furnaces that produced the chandeliers are: Anfora, Simone Cenedese, Componenti Donà, Salviati in collaboration with Nicola Moretti, Gianni Seguso, Lino Tagliapietra, Barovier&Toso, Wave Murano Glass and Scuola Abate Zanetti. The coordination of production and in particular the relationship between artists and furnaces was entrusted to Giordana Naccari.

In designing her chandelier "Morbida Macchina Silicea", Maria Grazia Rosin (Componenti Donà) delved into the theme of sustainability by creating a self-sufficient chandelier with LED spotlights equipped with small solar panels. The aesthetic feature of the work is blue blown glass elements, made by Componenti Donà, which come in various shapes and in all the pastel tones of Venetian stucco, covering the metal supporting structure.