About

Scuola Piccola Zattere is a non-profit space for continuous education and research in the expanded field of contemporary arts. Its activities encompass exhibitions, commissions, residencies and fellowships, workshops, seminars, discursive and performative events, following an integrated methodological approach that encourages mutual influences among formats of study, production, and fruition. Open to the work of cultural practitioners from around the world, the activities of Scuola Piccola Zattere are aimed mostly at the artistic communities who live, study, and practice in the city of Venice.

The name draws inspiration from an institution emblematic of Venetian history, the scuola piccola, a unique model of civic organization that was widespread and inclusive. This historical precedent led to the idea of a community space; a fluid, versatile venue for cultural production and education as foundational elements for active participation in the public sphere. The choice to call it a “school” refers chiefly to this social, horizontal process of sharing and reciprocity, in which the pedagogical dimension is an outcome rather than the primary defining function. The historical reference also highlights an intentional focus on Venice and its particularities, dynamics, and needs. It’s the resident community of students, graduates, researchers, and cultural practitioners in different fields that the Scuola Piccola hopes to engage by providing opportunities to pursue their work in a setting of collective dialogue, by way of its public events, learning and mentorship occasions, residencies, and access to space for independent projects.

The historical model of the scuola piccola also inspires the thematic focus for the first year of activity, which will run from November 2024 to November 2025. Titled One Year Score, the research program will explore the forms of aggregation, conflict, and negotiation inherent in the dynamics of sociality, examined in light of the relationship between space and body, architecture and performative action. The spatial politics of belonging and exclusion, hierarchy and horizontality, rigidity and porosity, materiality and immateriality will be at the center of a common reflection across the various disciplines and the different formats of residency, study, and programming, informing a collective research process extended over time. The term score is a conceptual tool for exploring the open relationship between instruction and action, a central theme for artistic and performative disciplines as well as pedagogical thought. 

Scuola Piccola Zattere, opened in November 2024, is a project of the Fondazione per lo sviluppo dell’arte contemporanea Victoria, an Italian institution established in 2014. Its founder is Victoria Mikhelson, who supports the Foundation's activities as the sole funder through her own personal resources. 
In 2017, the Foundation established a cooperation agreement with the Russian V-A-C Foundation, focusing on the exchange and dialogue between Russian and international contemporary art.
That agreement was permanently terminated in 2022 following the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which led to the tragic events in Ukraine.
Scuola Piccola Zattere, as a newly inspired cultural initiative dedicated to the city of Venice and to the promotion of the languages of art as a vehicle for dialogue between different peoples and cultures, strongly condemns all forms of war, conflict and violence. In accordance with its mission and cultural program, Scuola Piccola Zattere is committed to supporting and protecting the freedom of thought and expression of all people housed in its spaces.