Art galleries in Venice, between female leadership and networking. Venice Galleries View: a market survey.

Abstract

This dissertation has the goal to analyse the Venetian art gallery system in its peculiarity, as predominantly women-led, and as the first Italian example of galleries’ networking, with Venice Galleries View. The art gallery system in Venice is constantly growing. Starting in the ‘40s, the city witnessed the birth of private institutions, hence outside the world of the Venice Biennial, rather grounded and influential, such that the town became one of Western Europe's main contemporary art poles. Above all, some female figures distinguished themselves for being crucial for developing the Venetian galleries and the general contemporary art system. Of course, with her spectacular collection, Peggy Guggenheim opened the doors of the Venetian territory to international art and artists, broadening its horizons up to the United States. Then Bruna Aickelin, the founder of the renowned Galleria il Capricorno of Venice in 1970: she always supported emerging artists, introducing them to her international network, fostering in the city vitality and enthusiasm for the contemporary. These women’s names still echo in Venetian art history, and their footprints have recently been followed by a women-led constellation of nine galleries, founders of the project Venice Galleries View. It is a network of female gallerists to support the growth of the contemporary art system in Venice and its enhancement, beyond the context of the International Exhibition. To deepen the relevance and influence of this women-driven project a sales survey of the nine galleries is proposed, starting from the constitution of the group in 2017, to examine their impact on the Venetian art system and their contribution to its development and success, as their ancestors did last century.