Voice of Commons amplifies the urgent need for governance architectures to protect the Global Commons for All-kind. It creates a space for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collective imagination for sustainable futures, mobilising action from diverse platforms: a podcast series featuring leading interdisciplinary experts who bring planetary issues to the forefront, transforming eco-anxiety into action; “Speak- Up for the Global Commons,” a grassroots campaign inviting global citizens to lend their voice and sign a petition to create a constituency for the Commons; a Planetary Embassy, restored for the occasion after decades of disrepair, the historic 1952 Biennale Ticket Office designed by Carlo Scarpa is transformed into a Planetary Embassy that will broadcast, each day, voices of nation-state, stateless nation, or Indigenous community representatives, marking a historic first for many communities at the Biennale. A dense programme of conversations will amplify “Human and Non-Human Voices from the Past, Present and Future” exploring the potential of the Global Commons as laboratories for new democratic governance models.
Beyond Venice, Voice of Commons will stream from climate fora including the UN Ocean Conference and COP30. Endorsed with patronage by UNESCO, the UN Ocean Decade and ESA, Voice of Commons is the start of a movement.
Participants
UNA / UNLESS VENICE, ITALY Giulia Foscari, Venice, Italy, 1980. Lives and works in Venice, Italy, and internationally.
Authorial Collaborators
Ambassadors: Johan Rockström, The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Director); Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue & The Sylvia Earle Alliance (President and Chairman); Xiye Bastida, Re-Earth (Founder).
Advisors: Martin Frick, Club of Rome / COPx.
Advisory Council: Carlo Barbante, Institute of Polar Sciences, CNR (Director); Antje Boetius, The Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (Director); Francesca Bria, New European Bauhaus High Level Roundtable (Member); Simonetta Cheli, European Space Agency, Earth Observation Programmes (Director); Klaus Dodds, Royal Holloway University of London (Dean); Eva Franch i Gilabert, UMPRUM Academy of Arts Architecture and Design in Prague (Architect and Professor); Markus Reymann, TBA21, Thyssen- Bornemisza Art Contemporary (Director); Jessy Kate Schlinger, Open Lunar Foundation (Co-Founder); Patricia Urquiola, Studio Urquiola (Founder) and Cassina (Art Director).
Technical Collaborators
Falegnameria Capovilla (Carlo Scarpa ticket office, architecture); Studio Urquiola and Cassina (outdoor benches); Cassina (indoor furniture by Charlotte Perriand; outdoor stools by Virgil Abloh); Artemide (lighting); Giovanni Bonotto and Fondazione Bonotto (tapestry); Slalom (acoustic insulation); NeonLauro (signage); Paper Factor (vernissage elements); PASE Platform (sound production); Kinonauts (video production); Altrofragile (exhibition production); Studio Vedèt (visual identity); Lineadacqua (Planetary Embassy daily management)
Team
UNA/UNLESS: Giulia Foscari (Founder), Poppy Clark, Alessandro Gatti, Mariagiulia Pistonese, Javier Santini, Anna Scorretti, Anna Seidel; Louise Carver and Giuliana Rotola (research assistants); Benjamin Dennel (graphic design); Tobias Rees (quantum soundscapes).
Thanks
Under the patronage of UNESCO, UN Ocean Decade, and the European Space Agency. Partners: Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition; COPx; Open Lunar Foundation; TBA21 Thyssen- Bornemisza Art Contemporary; LAS Art Foundation
Supporters
Cassina (Scarpa ticket office); Artemide; Lavazza Group; Fondazione Bonotto; Ursula Stein; Slalom; Paper Factor; NeonLauro; Lineadacqua
