International Conference: “Fluid Geographies. Reconsidering the Notion of Border in Contemporary Art” and Book Presentation “Venice, an Archipelago of Art and Ecologies” – Venice (Italy), 18-19 June 2025

As part of the UWK-IDM project “European Dis/Orders”, the transdisciplinary Research Lab Society in Transition / SDGs at the University for Continuing Education Krems (Christina Hainzl) and the Ecological Art Practices research cluster at THE NEW INSTITUTE Centre for Environmental Humanities (NICHE) at Ca’ Foscari University (Cristina Baldacci) organised a two-day conference in Venice focusing on the theme and notion of borders – particularly from the perspective of photography and the moving image.

Day 1 of the conference took the form of a workshop at the German Center for Venetian Studies, where scholars and curators exchanged views on different understandings of borders, starting from their personal experience as cultural professionals. Participants adopted theoretical-philosophical, technological-media and even ecological perspectives to explore the limits of photography and the moving image, and to highlight future challenges and trends.

Day 2 was held at the Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi and featured individual presentations of art projects and film screenings. The first part of this day focused on political and social perceptions of borders and the second part, organised by Lungomare, on rivers as liminal spaces from multiple perspectives.

At the end of Day 2 the new book “Venice, an Archipelago of Art and Ecologies” (transcript, 2025) which delves into the fragile but resilient Venetian cultural ecosystem at the time of the climate crisis, was presented and discussed by the editors and selected authors. The book originates from a collaboration between the Research Lab Society in Transition (University for Continuing Education Krems) and NICHE (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice).

The conference proved to be a great success, offering a wealth of insightful discussions, critical reflections, and diverse perspectives on the concept and experience of borders in contemporary art.

We would like to thank Cristina Baldacci and NICHE at Ca’ Foscari University for the close and inspiring collaboration in organising the conference. Many thanks also to Angelika Burtscher and Daniele Lupo from Lungomare for their valuable contributions to the program. We are grateful to the German Center for Venetian Studies – especially Petra Schaefer and Director Richard Erkens – for hosting us on the first day, and to Palazzo Grassi – Pinault Collection Venezia, in particular Francesca Colasante, for welcoming us on the second day.

A richly illustrated retrospective, offering further impressions from the conference and book launch, is available to download here: FLUID GEOGRAPHIES_Retrospective.pdf.