Tracing the Invisible Threads Between Venice and Ethiopia

As the 13th artist-in-residence at AKKA Project during the 2026 Venice Biennale Arte, Dawit Abebe reflects on travel, cultural exchange, and the unexpected historical connections that have transformed Venice into both a subject and a collaborator in his evolving practice.

For Ethiopian artist Dawit Abebe, travel is more than merely reaching a destination—it is a way of thinking, observing, and creating. Serving as the 13th artist-in-residence at AKKA Project during the 2026 Venice Biennale Arte, he dove into the complexities of a city shaped by centuries of exchange, migration, and myth. As he moved through Venice’s maze of streets, canals, and islands, Abebe connected Venetian and Ethiopian histories, drawing unexpected links that reverberate across geography and time.

He found inspiration everywhere: from maps and masks to Murano glass and the symbolic play between the Lion of Saint Mark and the Lion of Judah. Venice did not remain a mere backdrop; rather, it became an active presence within his work. In this conversation, Abebe discusses the residency as a journey: walking, research, and embodied experience transformed the city into both subject and collaborator. 

 

Suzette Bell-Roberts: How did your experience in Venice specifically challenge or expand your artistic approach?

Dawit Abebe: Travel is central to my artistic practice. In Venice, the city’s layered histories, material textures, and cultural memory become sites of inquiry and exploration. Through walking, observation, and immersion, I develop an embodied understanding of place that expands my visual and material vocabulary. This experience shapes the way I engage with form, materiality, memory, and lived experience in my work.

 

Which aspects of Venice’s history or atmosphere most directly influenced the development of BLACKBOX?

Venice feels like a city born from both water and imagination. It stands on thousands of wooden piles driven deep into the lagoon, creating an unseen forest beneath the surface. Upon this hidden foundation, stone palaces and churches rise like flowers blooming from a submerged garden. For centuries, Venice served as a meeting point between worlds, where Europe, Byzantium, and the Mediterranean trade routes converged. Merchants, artists, and thinkers brought goods, ideas, and cultural influences that helped shape the city’s unique identity. Landmarks such as the Doge’s Palace and the Grand Canal reflect this rich, layered history. What we see today is only part of the story. Much of Venice remains hidden beneath the water—in its foundations, its memories, and the histories embedded within its landscape.
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