Marmots will take centre stage at the Biennale Gherdëina in the Dolomites next year, with a title borrowed from a legend featuring the puff-cheeked large squirrels.
Curated by Italian art historian Lorenzo Giusti – currently director of the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Bergamo – The Parliament of Marmots will reference the tale of the Fanes, a peaceful people whose kingdom extended beyond the seven Dolomite mountains to the edge of the world.
The secret of the Fanes’s prosperity lay in their alliance with the marmots that they lived amongst. When the alliance was broken by a princess, ashamed of a pact with animals, the Fanes met with misfortunes and conflicts that led to the decline of the kingdom.
The exhibition, which will feature public art, performances, solo and group exhibitions and workshops open to the public by artists from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the names of whom are yet to be announced, will open 31 May 2024 and runs through to 1 September.
