Fondazione Prada

Fondazione Prada is a contemporary art space in a Baroque palazzo on Calle Corner, near the Grand Canal in Venice. It has no permanent collection: exhibitions use the building’s three main floors for projects that can run alongside the Biennale. Shows have ranged from OMA’s exploration of diagrams to Christoph Büchel’s work on debt. The palace is part of the visit, too, with historic interiors that give contemporary installations a striking setting. Check the current exhibition before you go, since the art on view changes.

A palazzo used as an exhibition space

The Venetian headquarters of Fondazione Prada occupies a Baroque palace on Calle Corner. Domenico Rossi designed the building, which was completed in 1728. Before it became an art museum, the palace housed a Monte di Pietà, an institution that provided loans to people in need.

Fondazione Prada has no permanent collection. Instead, exhibitions use the palazzo’s three main floors as project space. The programme is contemporary and can include several exhibitions at once, so the experience depends on what is showing during your visit.

Exhibitions shaped by their setting

Past projects have taken on subjects including visual representation, systems of thought, debt and the history of the building. OMA’s exhibition “Diagrams” examined diagrams across time, including work by W.E.B. Du Bois. Christoph Büchel’s “Monte di Pietà” drew on the palace’s former role as a lending institution to explore debt.

The palazzo’s rooms are part of the encounter with each exhibition. Some projects alter how you experience the interiors; in one exhibition, the windows were covered and the spaces were darkened. If seeing the palace and its canal setting matters to you, check the nature of the current installation before you go.