On Venice

“After your first visit you are destined to return at every possible chance or with every possible excuse. There is no staying away for long. […] Every hour of the day is a miracle of light. In summer with daybreak the rising sun produces such a tender magic on the water that it nearly breaks one’s heart. As the hours progress the light becomes more and more violent until it envelops the city with a diamond-like haze. Then it commences slowly to sink into the magic sunset, the capolavoro of the day. This is the moment to be on the water. It is imperative. The canals lure you, call you, cry to you to come and embrace them from a gondola. […] Day after day one is drawn from terraferma to float in the lagoon, to watch the sunset, or to go gently past the palaces seeing their images reflected in the canal. The reflections are like paintings more beautiful than any painted by the greatest masters. […] If anything can rival Venice in its beauty, it must be its reflection at sunset in the Grand Canal.”

– Peggy Guggenheim, Out of This Century (London: Andre Deutsch, 1979)

It’s been 20 years since I visited Venice but the city’s enticing charm has not dimmed a bit. And that is saying something since I arrive this time with 20 teenagers in tow. Granted, we all share a love for art so they pass the cool kids test.

Our journey was sponsored by my school’s Academic Travel program – encompassing out-of-the-classroom learning opportunities all over Europe. My students (and I) hit the jackpot landing this Venice trip.

The aim of the trip was to soak in the inspiration of Venice. From painting on the edge of the canal to viewing the indomitable Peggy Guggenheim’s home art collection, we saw a lot in just four days.

At each stop, I would give my students a prompt – something to focus on in their artmaking, a question to ponder, etc. Below are a few of their sketchbook pages.

It was my first time leading this trip and my school was super supportive of new ideas. I asked for a day trip to Murano to visit the glassblowing studios, as well as a visit to the Venice Biennale. Both requests were honored and embraced.

This year’s Biennale theme was architecture, employing the title of Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. Each country involved interpreted the prompt in a unique way. My students impressed me with their open-minded attitude towards this fairly far-out concept.

My prompt asked them to consider what role technology, specifically artificial intelligence, should play in artmaking in 2025. For children of the digital age (and frequent Chat GPT users), they surprised me with their measured response, hesitating to accept AI into their artmaking process.

We sought inspiration at the Mercato di Rialto, studying composition techniques like the Rule of Odds and complementary colors found amongst the vegetable stands.

The highlight of the trip for me was an artmaking session I hosted on the top floor of a Starbucks near the Realto Bridge. Finding a place for 20+ artists to create is no easy feat! We spent nearly two hours painting, drawing, and collaging, inspired by what we had seen.

Venice really put on a show with four straight days of sunshine and beautiful fall temperatures. Everyone returned home safely – limbs and sanity (mostly!) intact. Already looking forward to next year.