Fondazione Prada to launch “Everybody Talks About the Weather” exhibition in Venice

Fondazione Prada, the cultural institution founded by the fashion designer Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli in 1993, has announced its latest exhibit, “Everybody Talks About the Weather." The exhibition is curated by Dieter Roelstraete and will be displayed at the historic Ca’ Corner della Regina in Fondazione Prada’s Venetian venue from May 20th to November 26th, 2023.

The exhibition explores the relationship between visual art and weather as a means of highlighting the urgency of climate change. Over fifty contemporary artworks and a selection of historical pieces demonstrate the various ways in which climate and weather have influenced our history and how we have dealt with the challenges of our exposure to meteorological events. The New York-based studio 2x4 designed the exhibition layout, which blends the artistic and scientific components of the project, featuring in-depth scientific spotlights developed in collaboration with The New Institute Centre for Environmental Humanities (NICHE) at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice.

Traditionally, meteorology and climatology are two distinct scientific disciplines focused on weather and climate, Fondazione Prada said in a statement. This exhibition, however, deliberately equates these two objects of study and uses visual art and science to frame the climate crisis and its impact on our daily lives. It evokes, depicts, and analyses weather phenomena, which is a global theme that unifies all humanity. By talking about the weather, we are ultimately discussing and caring about the future of our planet.

The project follows the exhibitions “Human Brains: It Begins with an Idea” presented in Venice in 2022 and “Cere Anatomiche: La Specola di Firenze | David Cronenberg” currently displayed in Milan. It is another attempt to address broader cultural challenges with the combined tools of science and artistic creation. The aim is to disseminate new knowledge and share the latest academic and scientific research results with a broader audience.

The exhibition will feature a series of “research stations” with more than five-hundred books, scientific publications, articles, and video materials, allowing the audience to consult the various bibliographic sources of the extensive research behind the project.

The exhibition will be complemented by a three-day public program scheduled in October 2023 and an illustrated book published by Fondazione Prada.