Spirits Of Maritime Crossing

Casa
Italia
Venice
Spirits Of Maritime Crossing

9 May — 2 August, 2026
Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù, Venice, Italy

03/08/2026

As The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026 comes to a close, we extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this extraordinary journey possible.

To our participating artists for sharing your vision and creativity; our curatorial and production teams for bringing the exhibition to life; our docents and volunteers for welcoming visitors with generosity and knowledge; our partners, sponsors, supporters, and collaborators for your invaluable trust and commitment; and to Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù for hosting this exhibition in the heart of Venice, thank you.

Most importantly, thank you to every visitor who took the time to engage with the artworks, conversations, and stories presented throughout the exhibition. Your curiosity and presence gave these ideas meaning beyond the gallery walls.

While this chapter draws to a close, the conversations inspired by The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026 continue.

We look forward to welcoming you again soon.

La Biennale di Venezia

03/08/2026

As The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026 comes to a close, we reflect on a deeply moving final performance by internationally acclaimed Irish artist Amanda Coogan.

Through presence, silence, and extraordinary endurance, Coogan transformed the final days of the exhibition into a powerful shared experience, inviting audiences to slow down, observe, and connect beyond words. Her closing performance was a fitting conclusion to a journey that has brought together artists, ideas, and conversations across cultures.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Venice and became part of this unforgettable chapter.

La Biennale di Venezia

02/08/2026

For Ong Kian Peng, water has always shaped the way cities develop. It influences movement, ecology, memory, and the ways people inhabit a place. Whether in Southeast Asia or Venice, waterways are living systems that continue to reflect both environmental change and human intervention.

Presenting his work in Venice highlighted how cities that seem very different can share similar concerns. Singapore, Venice, and Bangkok are deeply connected to water, and all face the complex realities of climate change, urbanisation, and fragile ecosystems.

His work invites audiences to reflect on these shared conditions, exploring how technology can help reveal the often invisible relationships between people, nature, and the environments they shape together.

Building on these conversations, Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation invites audiences to continue exploring the many stories of Bangkok at Bangkok Art Biennale 2026. From the riverside temples of Wat Arun and Wat Pho to cultural landmarks including Art Centre, Silpakorn University and the National Museum Bangkok, as well as urban destinations such as Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, One Bangkok and more, the Biennale transforms the city into a journey through art, heritage, and the waterways that have shaped Bangkok for centuries.

02/08/2026

“I am grateful for the invitation to participate in The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026, a Collateral Event of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, which brings together artists from various countries around the world — beyond Thailand, of course. It creates an opportunity to gain insight into different places and conditions, to share knowledge and experiences, and to a better understanding of the differences and similarities in the challenges of life, while also opening up possibilities for continued communication and future collaboration.

The state of the world today is alarming. Social, political, economic, and environmental issues continue to threaten life across the globe, as the global ruling elite — often referred to as oligarchs — are openly implementing a system that benefits only their own circle. Yet I believe contemporary art offers a creative space where different disciplines, philosophies, and spiritual perspectives can come together. It connects various cultural systems and transcends the boundaries that divide us, fostering dialogue across cultural and intellectual differences — bridging gaps that go beyond mere physical distance.

Through this interdisciplinary approach, art allows us to explore creative possibilities — and perhaps even discover innovative solutions — to the pressing challenges facing humanity today. If we fail to recognize the destruction of the natural world and the consequences of conflict and division, we risk losing the very foundations of life itself.”

The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026 continues at Bangkok Art Biennale 2026, where artists from around the world will transform Bangkok’s iconic temples, including Wat Pho, Wat Arun, and Wat Prayoon, as well as cultural landmarks such as Museum Siam and the National Museum Bangkok, alongside vibrant public spaces including centralwOrld and Siam Paragon. We invite you to experience these encounters and discover how contemporary art can inspire meaningful conversations, connecting communities, histories, and cultures beyond borders.

02/08/2026

In conversation with Dr. Apinan Poshyananda, artist Torlap Larpjaroensook reflects on Spiritual Spaceship Orbit, an installation that transforms everyday objects into vessels of memory, belief and imagination.

Inspired by his grandmother’s journey from China to Thailand and his own Thai-Chinese heritage, Larpjaroensook’s work envisions a spiritual spacecraft carrying fragments of culture, personal histories and collective memories across time and place. Through found objects and symbols of belief, the installation explores migration, identity and the enduring connections between past, present and future.

Presented within the historic Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù, Spiritual Spaceship Orbit draws parallels between Venice’s legacy as a crossroads of global exchange and Southeast Asia’s own rich histories of movement and cultural encounter. As Larpjaroensook explains, the work is ultimately a vehicle of the spirit, inviting audiences to reflect on the journeys that shape who we are, and the memories we carry with us wherever we go.

02/08/2026

“The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026 is an incredible vision of coming together and connection across the world. I am deeply honoured to be part of this vision of friendship and solidarity. I have learnt so much from working with this extraordinary collection of artists and visionaries. Contemporary art is a powerful and important place to explore our world and what it means to be here, now. The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026 has gathered a group of artists who bring unity in our rich diversity.” — Amanda Coogan

Through The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026, Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation continues its mission of connecting Thailand with the international contemporary art community by creating meaningful dialogue across cultures and borders.

That conversation will continue at Bangkok Art Biennale 2026, where artists from around the world will transform iconic places across Bangkok, from Wat Pho, Wat Arun to museums and public spaces like Bangkok Art and Culture Centre into sites of encounter, inviting visitors to discover how contemporary art, history, waterways and everyday life come together in one of Asia’s most vibrant cultural destinations.

Culture Ireland Amanda Coogan

02/08/2026

Today is your final opportunity to experience The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026.

Before the exhibition comes to a close, we invite you to spend time with the artworks, ideas, and conversations that have brought together artists from across the region and beyond in this unique presentation in Venice.

Thank you to everyone who has visited, reflected, and shared in this journey over the past months.

The exhibition remains open today at Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù. We look forward to welcoming you one last time.

La Biennale di Venezia

31/07/2026

Through A Body On Repeat, Swannie reflects on the ongoing process of becoming, exploring identity as a continuous cycle of transformation rather than a fixed destination. Rooted in the artist’s own lived experience as a q***r Burmese artist, the work confronts the pressures of binary gender systems and the expectations placed on trans bodies, reclaiming movement as an act of resilience, resistance, and self-authorship.

Inspired by childhood memories of being bullied after joining a traditional Burmese dance class intended for girls, A Body On Repeat revisits the tension between performing for acceptance and moving freely as one’s authentic self. Rather than offering a story of resolution, the work embraces repetition—returning to moments of rupture, healing, self-discovery, and renewal—as an enduring part of the journey toward self-acceptance.

At The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026, Swannie presents A Body On Repeat, inviting audiences to reflect on identity, memory, and the courage to continually reclaim oneself despite the persistent pressures to conform.

Come experience this powerful work as part of The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026.

📍 Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù
🗓 9 May – 2 August 2026
🕒 Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00 (closed Mondays and public holidays)

La Biennale di Venezia

30/07/2026

In conversation with Dr. Apinan Poshyananda, artist Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch reflects on the Journey of the Spirits, an installation that reimagines the journeys of people, objects, and ideas across oceans.

Using ceramic vessels as symbols of travellers, the work explores the movement of cultures through trade, migration, and exchange. Drawing connections between Ratchaburi’s ceramic heritage, the maritime routes of Marco Polo, and the historic setting of Venice, Tiew considers how objects carry stories across time, and how history is often shaped not only by what survives, but also by what is lost.

Installed within the Gothic interiors of Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù, Journey of the Spirits invites audiences to imagine the untold journeys behind cultural exchange, revealing how memory, mythology, and material culture continue to connect East and West across centuries.

Indirizzo

Venice

Sito Web

https://smc.bkkartbiennale.com/

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