Art in the Public Space: Audience, Collaboration and Freedom to Explore the Urban Context
A public lecture by the curator of Biennale Gherdëina 10, Samuel Leuenberger, in collaboration with South Tyrol’s Architecture Foundation, on November 21, 2025.
Biennale Gherdëina 6, Claudia Comte, WOOOW, 2018. Ph. Gunnar Meier
On November 21, 2025, Biennale Gherdëina, in collaboration with the South Tyrolean Architecture Foundation (Südtiroler Architekturstiftung Alto Adige), is pleased to present a public lecture by Samuel Leuenberger, curator of the upcoming edition of the biennial. Leuenberger will explore the concepts of Installation vs. Intervention and Site-specificity vs. Site-responsivity, focusing on three key themes that guide his approach to presenting artworks in public spaces: audience, collaboration, and the freedom to explore the urban context.
South Tyrol Architecture Foundation x Biennale Gherdëina
Public lecture with discussion and aperitif
Speaker: Samuel Leuenberger – Curator of Biennale Gherdëina 10 (2026).
Discussion with: Igor Comploi – Architect and Vice President of Biennale Gherdëina; Katharina Volgger – Architect, Lecturer, and Vice President of the South Tyrolean Architecture Foundation.
Date: 21 November 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Venue: Baufirma Martin Gebhard, Handwerkerzone Am Gornegg 15, 39040 Laion.
The lecture and following discussion will take place in German. Partecipation to the event will grant 2 BFC credits.
Please note that the venue has limited capacity (max. 80 people). Registration is required. Please register directly on the foundation’s website - here.
Organized in collaboration with Architekturstiftung Südtirol.
This event is kindly sponsored by Bauunternehmen Geom. Gebhard Martin.
Biennale Gherdëina 9 goes to Kaunas, Lithuania
A new partnership between Biennale Gherdëina and Kaunas Biennial opens exciting possibilities for dialogue, experimentation, and artistic exchange across borders.
Kaunas Biennial 15. Opening and installation view, 2025. Photo by Gražvydas Jovaiša
Atelier dell’Errore. Installation view at Kaunas Biennial, 2025
Atelier dell’Errore. Installation view at Kaunas Biennial, 2025
Ruth Beraha, Fortune is always hiding, I’ve looked everywhere. Installation view at Kaunas Biennial, 2025
Ruth Beraha, Fortune is always hiding, I’ve looked everywhere. Installation view at Kaunas Biennial, 2025
Arnold Holzknecht, Floramentale. Installation view at Kaunas Biennial, 2025
Arnold Holzknecht, Floramentale. Installation view at Kaunas Biennial, 2025
Arnold Holzknecht, Floramentale. Installation view at Kaunas Biennial, 2025
For the first time, Biennale Gherdëina is joining forces with Kaunas Biennial — a landmark collaboration that brings together two vibrant European contemporary art platforms. Founded in 1997, Kaunas Biennial stands as the largest and longest-running contemporary art festival in the Baltic States. Initially focused on textile art, it has since evolved into a dynamic forum embracing a wide range of artistic practices, fostering international dialogue, and addressing pressing social and cultural issues—values that strongly resonate with Biennale Gherdëina’s own mission.
Running from September 12 to November 23, 2025, the 15th edition of Kaunas Biennial invites visitors on a journey through art, nature, and imagination with its satellite exhibition Echoes Between Forests and Mountains, which includes an Italian artist selection by Lorenzo Giusti, curator of Biennale Gherdëina 9, and a Lithuanian artist selection by Neringa Kulik, director of Kaunas Biennial. Bringing together the voices of Lithuanian artists, Maximilian Oprishka, Aisté Ambrazevičiūté, and Andrius Arutiunian, and three remarkable Italian artists from the 2024 Biennale Gherdëina — Atelier dell’Errore, Ruth Beraha, and Arnold Holzknecht — the show creates a vivid dialogue between landscapes, cultures, and creative visions.
Set within the evocative spaces of Meno parkas Gallery and the Kaunas City Museum’s Town Hall branch, the exhibition blossoms from a vibrant network of international collaborations, linking Kaunas with the Lyon Biennale and CHRONIQUES – the Biennale des Imaginaires Numériques. A dynamic cross-cultural encounter, Echoes Between Forests and Mountains resonates far beyond borders — a celebration of shared imagination and artistic exchange between Italy, Lithuania and France.
The exhibition explores the intricate interplay between nature, myth, technology, and human intervention. Rooted in their respective landscapes—from the Lithuanian forests to the Alpine valleys—the artists offer sculptural and sensorial experiences that reflect a shared concern for our relationship with the natural world and its ongoing transformations. Across sculpture, film, installation, and sound, the exhibition unfolds as a conceptual landscape where ecological processes, human histories, and speculative futures converge.
From May 30 to September 13, 2026, three outstanding Lithuanian artists — Andrius Arutiunian, Eglé Kulbokaité, and Augustas Serapinas — will bring their unique voices to Biennale Gherdëina 10. Selected by Samuel Leuenberger, curator of the upcoming edition, following his inspiring research journey through Vilnius and Kaunas in January 2025, their participation marks a vibrant new chapter in the dialogue between the two biennials.
This creative exchange thrives thanks to the joint vision and collaborative support of the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Italian Republic, forging bridges between the Dolomites and the Baltic — where ideas, cultures, and imaginations freely intertwine.
Echoes Between Forests and Mountains is part of the Lithuanian Culture in Italy 2025–2026 program. The Lithuanian Culture in Italy 2025–2026 program is implemented by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in the Italian Republic.
Biennale Gherdëina 10: (Future) Paradise Gardens
Concept and artists for the 2026 biennial, curated by Samuel Leuenberger.
Val Gardena, Dolomites, Italy, 2022. Ph. Tiberio Sorvillo
Biennale Gherdëina 10 - (Future) Paradise Gardens curated by Samuel Leuenberger - will take place in Ortisei and other locations in Val Gardena, in the Dolomites, Italy, from May 31 to September 13, 2026. The opening will take place across a range of venues in Val Gardena on Saturday, May 30, 2026 (press preview: Thursday 28 May 2026, international press tour to coincide from Wednesday 27 May 2026).
This forthcoming edition of Biennale Gherdëina represents a landmark moment in the event’s history, as it proudly marks its tenth iteration. The 10th edition also heralds new major national and international collaborations across the biennale and beyond.
Amid the Dolomites, Biennale Gherdëina 10: (Future) Paradise Gardens invites us into terrains both tender and turbulent—where gardens become symbols of survival, love, and the possibility of a just future.
As the curator Samuel Leuenberger says:
“The Dolomites provide an inspiring backdrop, rich in natural beauty, artisanal traditions, and timeless mountain narratives — an ideal setting to explore the concept of (Future) Paradise Gardens. These gardens, existing at the intersection of raw natural grandeur and human cultivation, are envisioned not only as sanctuaries for flora and fauna but also as spaces reflecting our collective aspirations for a future grounded in justice and equality. Here, gardens can nourish both body and spirit, serving as places of refuge, possibility, and renewal for all.
The exhibition is structured into distinct chapters, each examining a different facet of the human-made construct we call the garden. Symbolically, metaphorically, and emotionally, the themes center around notions of “Commoning” — where growing and sharing food, alongside caretaking and preserving traces of all life, are given priority. Another chapter, titled “Divine Love and Growth,” invites contemplation of the garden as a symbol of spiritual flourishing and transcendence.
The exhibition further delves into the concept of the “Violent Garden,” addressing the urgent need to decolonize the garden — challenging anthropocentric views and creating space for animals and nature to move freely and reclaim agency. A chapter on “Queer Ecology” also interrogates why nature is often perceived as inherently queer, expanding the conversation on diversity and fluidity within ecological systems. Additionally, the project explores the “Botanical”— the ordering and classification of plant specimens — versus “Gardens as Spaces for Reflection and Poetry,” where gardens transform into sites of introspection, beauty, and creative imagination”.
Biennale Gherdëina 10 - (Future) Paradise Gardens artists will include:
Chanelle Adams (1992, US), Andrius Arutiunian (1991, Armenia/Lithuania), Jacopo Belloni (1992, Italy), Alice Bucknell (1993, UK/US), Leonardo Bürgi (1994, Mexico/Switzerland), Giulia Cenci (1988, Italy), Dorota Gaweda (1986, Poland) & Eglė Kulbokaitė (1987, Lithuania), Sandra Knecht (1968, Switzerland), Judith Neunhäuserer (1990, Italy), Walter Niedermayr (1952, Italy), Masatoshi Noguchi (1988, Japan/Italy), Gabriela Oberkofler (1975, Italy), Lydia Ourahmane (1992, Algeria), Gregor Prugger (1954, Italy) & Leonora Prugger (1995, Italy), Ana Prvacki (1976, Serbia), Augustas Serapinas (1990 Lithuania), Bas Smets (1975, Belgium) & Eliane Le Roux (1983, France), Bosco Sodi (1970, Mexico), Constantin Thun, Kelly Tissot (1995, France), Alvaro Urbano (1983, Spain), Yuyan Wang (1989, China), Evelyn Taocheng Wang (1981, China), Pedro Wirz (1981, Brazil/Switzerland) & Michael Marder (1980, Canada/Portugal).
For its 10th edition, Biennale Gherdëina is delighted to renew its collaborations with long-term parters, and to start new exciting projects with other institutions. Learn more about them in the full press release, available at the link below.
Samuel Leuenberger announced as the Curator of Biennale Gherdëina 2026.
Celebrating its 10th edition, Biennale Gherdëina takes place from 29 May to 13 September 2026.
Samuel Leuenberger, curator of Biennale Gherdëina 10. Portrait by Nicolas Gysin.
Biennale Gherdëina, located in the unique setting of the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites, is delighted to announce the appointment of Samuel Leuenberger as the Curator of its 10th edition. Through new commissions and an exhibition programme based on environmental projects and public programming, the biennial has organically grown from one edition to the next, gathering the international art world in the locality, whilst maintaining a strong connection to the cultural, historical and linguistic roots of the Alpine region. Following this vision yet tracing new and unprecedented trajectories, Biennale Gherdëina 10 will take place in Ortisei Urtijëi St. Ulrich and the surrounding areas of Val Gardena, Italy, from 29 May to 13 September 2026.
Samuel Leuenberger is the founder and director of SALTS, a non-profit exhibition space in Birsfelden and Bennwil, Switzerland, which aims to promote interdisciplinary exchange and dialogue with emerging artists. He was most recently the curator of Art Basel’s Messeplatz Project and currently works on the third and last installment of the Art in Public Space Project with Globus in collaboration with Fondation Beyeler. From 2016-2023 he was the curator of Art Basel’s Parcours sector. His curatorial vision is rooted in collaboration, with a focus on empathy and accessibility, often working with artists with whom he shares long-standing relations. His curatorial approach also emphasizes slow, thoughtful engagement with art and architecture and how they link to the natural environment, creating accessible yet thought-provoking experiences.
In response to the nomination, Leuenberger states:
“I am deeply honored and thrilled to be appointed as the Curator for the tenth edition of Biennale Gherdëina, set in such a breathtakingly beautiful landscape. The Dolomites offer an inspiring backdrop, rich in natural beauty, artisanal traditions, and timeless mountain tales — an ideal setting for exploring the concept of (Future) Paradise Gardens. These gardens, situated between the raw grandeur of nature and human cultivation, serve not only as sanctuaries for flora and fauna but also as spaces that reflect our aspirations for a future grounded in justice and equality. In this environment, we can envision gardens that nourish both the body and the spirit, spaces of refuge and possibility for all.”
More information on the programme will be announced in 2025.