Save Venice is excited to officially launch The Contemporaries, a new patron group and program dedicated to advancing meaningful, mission-aligned engagement with the contemporary art world while amplifying the organization’s work to preserve the artistic heritage of Venice. Through curated experiences, intellectual exchange, and engagement with artists, curators, and collectors, The Contemporaries will foster a dynamic dialogue between historic art conservation and contemporary artistic practice–connecting the past, present, and future of art in Venice.

The program’s Founding Members gathered in Venice from May 4 to 8 for the preview days of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, In Minor Keys, conceived by the late Koyo Kouoh, which Save Venice is honored to support in 2026 as an institutional donor.

The week-long journey included a tour of the Giardini and Arsenale exhibitions guided by Miranda Lash, the Ellen Bruss Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver to meet with several artists including Kambui Olujimi, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Kamaal Malak, Joy Episalla, George Buma Ampratwum, Yinka Shonibare, and more.

Image: Save Venice Contemporaries Founding Members and invited guests visit with artist Kambui Olujimi during the special preview day of the 61st Biennale di Venezia. 

Participants also experienced behind-the-scenes tours of Save Venice’s conservation projects, special openings of collateral exhibitions throughout the city, intimate gatherings with artists, curators, and collectors from around the globe hosted by board members Lee Doyle, Amy Harmon, and Tina Walls, and the restoration inauguration of Tintoretto’s paintings at the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore. It was a pleasure to share such an inspiring week together as we officially launched this new initiative connecting Save Venice with the contemporary art world.