From May through October 2019, artist Melissa McGill choreographed a series of large-scale regattas across Venice’s lagoon and canals in a major public art project that celebrates the city’s maritime history and calls attention to the forces of climate change and mass tourism that threaten its future. Unfolding in multiple parts, Red Regatta filled Venice’s waterways with 52 traditional vela al terzo sailboats, hoisted with hand-painted red sails. Bringing together over 300 local partners, Red Regatta was presented in collaboration with Associazione Vela al Terzo Venezia, co-organized by Magazzino Italian Art Foundation, and curated by Chiara Spangaro and project manager Marcella Ferrari.

Venice’s vela al terzo were designed with a flat bottom and removable mast to navigate the city’s waterways and have been sailed for more than a thousand years. They are perfectly adapted to Venice, with their flat shallow bottom which allows them to sail in the lagoon, and their removable mast makes it possible to row under the city’s  many bridges. This is an inspiring tradition that exists in perfect harmony within its ecosystem.

In Red Regatta, as the boats glided though the lagoon in unison against the sky, sea, and cityscape, the reds referenced forces of life and passion, alarm and urgency, and Venice itself—from its bricks and terra cotta rooftops, to its flag and history of trade in red pigment, to paintings by Titian, Tintoretto, and other Venetian masters.

In a collaboration with the artist, The Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations and Magazzino Italian Art Foundation, an exhibition of related and preparatory works was presented to preview Red Regatta before its debut in Venice. The exhibition coincided with the United Nations General Assembly’s meeting, Climate Protection for All: High-Level Meeting on the Protection of the Global Climate for Present & Future Generations of Humankind in the Context of the Economic, Social and Environmental Dimensions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Red Regatta commenced on May 8, 2019 with an artist talk and community open house at Ocean Space and a preview performative regatta on May 11 on the northern lagoon at Fondamente Nove. Additional regattas sailed at various points throughout the duration of Venice’s Biennale until October, including during the annual Regata Storica on September 1, 2019 in the Bacino di San Marco and the Regata di Burano on September 15, 2019. Each of the four Red Regatta performances was visible in a different area of the lagoon across the city and ideal viewing locations were listed in an interactive map below.

In conjunction with the regattas, artist-led workshops and public programs developed in collaboration with partners, such as Ocean Space and The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, explored the project’s themes in relation to the traditions that have shaped Venetian life for a millennium. Red Regatta is the first artwork to be registered as a Clean Regatta, a program of Sailors for the Sea/Oceana that mobilizes sailors to protect the ocean through education and activism.

McGill is a New York-based artist who previously lived in Venice and continues to be engaged with the city. Red Regatta emerges from the artist’s history of social practice projects and previous work in Venice, such as her 2017 project The Campi, also curated by Chiara Spangaro. Additional project partners include Comune di Venezia, Università IUAV di Venezia, Ocean Space, Reale Società, Cannotieri Bucintoro, Golden Artist Colors,  Classic Boats Venice, Vento di Venezia, Spazio Thetis, Inc.,  Sailors for The Sea/Oceana, and Fractured Atlas.

For US and International press inquiries, please email melissa@melissamcgillartist.com

The following pages are excerpts from the Red Regatta book published by Marsilio. These photographic portraits of collaborating sailors, all members of Associazione Vela al Terzo Venezia, and students from Università IUAV were taken during the sail painting workshop in March 2019 at Spazio Thetis in the historic Venetian Arsenale. The book is available here.

Red Regatta Artist Talk and Open House

May 8, 2019, from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Ocean Space, Chiesa di San Lorenzo (Castello 5069, 30122 Venezia)

The first official program of Red Regatta invites local Venetians and visitors alike to an Open House, organized with mission-aligned Ocean Space, that includes an artist talk, community reception, and opportunity to see several participating sailboats up-close, moored in the canal in front of Campo di San Lorenzo.

Artist Melissa McGill, president of the Associazione Vela al Terzo Venezia Giorgio Righetti, and the director of TBA21–Academy Markus Reymann present a short program that will spur conversations on Red Regatta and the project’s core themes: the environment and maritime traditions that have shaped life in Venice for a millennium.

The Open House is presented in collaboration with Ocean Space, a new platform for oceanic research and artistic innovation in the recently revitalized Church of San Lorenzo. Additional Red Regatta programming developed with Ocean Space will be announced this summer.

Red Regatta Preview

May 11, 2019, 2:00 to 4:00 pm

Route: Bacini – Fondamente Nove

Viewing locations: Fondamente Nove, from Fondamente Nove vaporetto stop to Ospedale vaporetto stop; Calle Giazzo, from Celestia vaporetto stop to Associazione Vela al Terzo headquarters

On May 11, the first public day of the Biennale, a preview performance of Red Regatta including more than 50 traditional vela al terzo sailboats, embarks on Venice’s northern lagoon between Fondamente Nove and Isola di San Michele. Audiences are encouraged to join the artist and sailors at a reception following the event at the Associazione Vela al Terzo headquarters.

Red Regatta

June 30, 2019, 12:00 – 2:00 pm

Route: San Servolo – Poveglia

Viewing locations: Riva dei Sette Martiri; Viale Giardini Pubblici; San Servolo Island; Lido’s Lagoon waterfront

Navigating the waters between the islands of San Servolo and Poveglia, Red Regatta will weave through the historic landscape and activate the architecture with the choreographed flotilla. Starting between San Servolo and Venice, Red Regatta will move towards Poveglia, in parallel to the Lagoon coast of Lido.

Red Regatta, coinciding with Venice’s Regata Storica

September 1, 2019, 12:00 – 5:00 pm

Route: Canale della Giudecca – Bacino San Marco – Canal Grande near Punta della Dogana

Viewing locations: Fondamenta Zattere; Punta della Dogana; Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore; Piazza San Marco and Riva degli Schiavoni; Fondamenta della Giudecca, side of Canale della Giudecca Canal Grande near Punta della Dogana

Joining the annual Regata Storica, a celebration of Venetian maritime culture dating back to the 13^th century, Red Regatta will stage an evanescent performance on the Canale della Giudecca and Bacino San Marco. Starting between Sacca Fisola and San Basilio, navigating the Canale della Giudecca, the performance will reach the Bacino San Marco between Punta della Dogana, Piazza San Marco and San Giorgio Maggiore Island.

Red Regatta at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection

August 31, 2019, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm,

Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Dorsoduro, 701-704, 30123 Venezia VE, Italy

A small grouping of vela al terzo hoisted with red sails raised will be moored in front of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, giving visitors and passersby the opportunity to preview these historic wooden boats on the Grand Canale.

Family Event

September 1, 2019, 3:00 – 4:30 pm

Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Dorsoduro, 701-704, 30123 Venezia VE, Italy

On Sunday, September 1st, on the occasion of Red Regatta, children aged 4 to 10 will have the opportunity to discover the artist Alexander Calder and his incredible sculptures. Starting with bedhead, which imitates and brings together a submarine world and garden, the young visitors will then come to see his monumental “The Cow”, 1971, which recalls the enormous red sails that originally inspired Red Regatta. During the visit and the educational workshop, the participants, joined by fish, dragonflies, plants, and animals, will come to discover an artist for whom nature was a continuous source of both inspiration and imitation.

In 2018 the Peggy Guggenheim Collection joined ASviS, the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development that promotes the 17 Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. This workshop belongs to this important awareness process as it addresses, in particular, Goal 13, to fight against climate change, and Goal 14, focused on the Sea Life.

Open House: Past to Present / Local to Global 

The Vela al Terzo sailing tradition, with the Associazione Vela al Terzo and Red Regatta 

September 14, 2019, 3:00 – 7:00 pm

Ocean Space, Chiesa di San Lorenzo (Castello 5069, 30122 Venezia)

Marking their second collaboration, Red Regatta and Ocean Space will present a free interactive public program addressing the local and global perspectives of conservation in Venice’s lagoon, including panel discussions exploring the history of Venice and the city’s current environmental state and educational and hands-on workshops for audiences of all ages. Hosted at Ocean Space, a new transdisciplinary platform for oceanic research and innovation in the revitalized Chiesa di San Lorenzo, Red Regatta and Ocean Space leadership, participating sailors, and project collaborators will celebrate the project ahead of the final performative regatta on September 15.

Artist Melissa McGill will moderate a two-part panel conversation exploring the culture and history of the vela al terzo sailing tradition with president of the Associazione Vela al Terzo Giorgio Righetti and the author of Tradizioni e regate della vela al terzo, Silvio Testa, and then delve into the current and future environmental threats to the Venetian lagoon and bodies of water around the world with experts. Audiences are then invited to join Red Regatta sailors in hands-on workshops to learn knot tying, sail-making, and boat-building techniques, in addition to a Red Regatta sail painting activity led by student volunteers from Università Iuav di Venezia. Attendees will be invited to a community aperitivo and have the opportunity to preview several of the participating traditional boats with red sails raised, moored in the canal in front of Campo di San Lorenzo.

Red Regatta

September 15th, 2019, 1:00 – 4:00 pm

Route: Burano – Torcello

Viewing locations: Waterfront along Canale di Burano and Fondamenta dei Squeri, Vaporetto stop at Torcello, Fondamenta di Mazzorbo

Concurrently with the historic Regata di Burano, which features the centuries old tradition of the voga alla veneta, Red Regatta will move through the Northern lagoon between Burano and Torcello. Engaging with the landscape of this unique section of Venice with its ancient Roman ruins and distinctive architecture, the vela al terzo fleet will weave through the islands and call attention to the location’s history and traditions.

Melissa McGill is known for collaborative, ambitious site specific public art projects, creative interventions and a vibrant studio practice.  Her projects are site-specific, immersive experiences that explore nuanced conversations between land, water, sustainable traditions, and the interconnectedness of all living things. At the heart of her work is a focus on community, meaningful shared experiences and lasting impact. Spanning a variety of media including performance, photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, sound, light, video and immersive installation, McGill has presented both independent public art projects and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally since 1991.

McGill lived in Venice from 1991-93, and has re-turned regularly for inspiration, research and artistic collaborations for over two decades. Red Regatta is the artist’s second major project that raises awareness of Venetian life and culture. Her previous sculptural sound work, The Campi, May 2017, invoked daily life in the Venetian Campo and was presented at Carlo Scarpa’s Casa/Studio Scatturin, Università IUAV di Venezia and Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art in Venice, Italy. The Campi was curated by Chiara Spangaro and sponsored by Magazzino Italian Art. Constellation, 2015-2017, installed on an island in the Hudson River, New York, lit each night creating a new constellation transforming Bannerman castle ruin. McGill has been exhibiting her artwork nationally and internationally since 1991, including recent solo exhibitions at The Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York; TOTAH, New York; White Cube, London; Power House, Memphis; Palazzo Capello, Venice; and CRG Gallery, New York.

She currently lives in Lenapehoking/Beacon, New York. 

Melissa McGill is a member of the Lenape Center Advisory Council (since 2021), the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail Design Council (since 2019) and the Pleiades Network, a network of women working at the forefront of environmental and social justice (since 2023). She is an invited participant in the Enabling the Future of Land Stewardship for Climate and Social Resilience in the Hudson Valley initiative hosted by the Volgenau Climate Initiative in New York (since 2023). She is a National Endowment of the Arts Art Works Grant recipient.
McGill is represented in the USA by Totah and by Mazzoleni in Europe and Asia.

Chiara Spangaro, Curator. Chiara is an art historian and independent curator based in Milan. Operating in the fields of contemporary art, architecture and design, she is curator of Fondazione Aldo Rossi. In collaboration with Germano Celant, she served as the curatorial associate for the Art and Architecture department of Triennale di Milano, 2009-2012, as well as associated curator of exhibitions as: Arts & Foods, 2015, Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Water Projects, 2016, Giovanni Gastel, 2016, Arman 1954-2005. 2017, Post Zang Tumb Tuuum, Art Life Politics: Italia 1918-1943, 2018, and more. In 2017 she curated Aldo Rossi e Milano and MelissaMcGill: The Campi and, in 2018, Gio Ponti. Archi-designer.

Marcella Ferrari, Project Manager. Marcella is a public art and land art project manager and producer. In 2004, she began working as a production assistant for Germano Celant and she continues to be General Manager of Studio Celant. In 2014, she was appointed the CEO of The Floating Piers Srl, the Italian company that organized the construction and the event of the work of art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude at Lake Iseo, Italy. She is currently the project manager for the construction of the Alberto Garutti works of art at Ca’ Corniani – Terra d’Avanguardia, Caorle, Italia, commissioned by Generali Italia Spa.

Associazione Vela al Terzo: Based in Venice, this historic sailing association is dedicated to supporting the “vela al terzo” tradition and spreading the knowledge of Venice’s Lagoon and its thousand-year seafaring tradition. For more than 1,000 years, traditional “vela al terzo” sailboats adapted to both the open sea and Venice’s Lagoon and canals, connecting the city and its people to trading partners and neighbors. velaalterzo.it

Magazzino Italian Art: Red Regatta is co-organized by Magazzino Italian Art Foundation. Magazzino is a museum in Cold Spring, New York, devoted to Italian Postwar and Contemporary art. Magazzino, which means warehouse in Italian, was co-founded by Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu. Designed by Spanish architect Miguel Quismondo, the 20,000 square-foot structure was completed in June 2017. Magazzino serves as a resource for scholars and students and offers an extensive library and archive of Italian Art. In addition, Magazzino has become a cultural hub for the vibrant Hudson Valley community thanks to joint programs with local organizations. Under the guidance of Director Vittorio Calabrese, his team and its curatorial programs, Magazzino Italian Art Foundation bridges collaborations with American and Italian organizations not only to support contemporary Italian artists but also to foster discussions on Italian Postwar and Contemporary art in the United States. magazzino.art

Mazzoleni: A sponsor of Red Regatta, Mazzoleni was founded in Turin in 1986 by Giovanni and Anna Pia Mazzoleni, as a natural evolution of their private collection started in the 1950s. The historic Turin space, which occupies three floors of Palazzo Panizza, overlooking the city-centre Piazza Solferino, has since 2014 been flanked by the London gallery in the Mayfair art district. Over the past three decades Mazzoleni has organized solo and group exhibitions of more than 200 prominent Italian and international artists from across the 20th century with an exhibition program focused on museum-calibre Post-War Italian art and art from the Seventies, working in close collaboration with artists’ estates and foundations.

Sailors for the Sea: Sailors for the Sea is the world’s only ocean conservation organization that engages, educates, inspires, and activates the sailing and boating community toward healing the ocean. Since its start in 2004, Sailors for the Sea has worked towards building a community of ocean stewards by offering tools, education, and inspiration so that sailors may become change agents and harness the power of their passion to heal the ocean. Sailors for the Sea is headquartered in Newport, Rhode Island and has three affiliates; Sailors for the Sea Japan; Sailors for the Sea Portugal; and Sailors for the Sea Chile.

Clean Regattas : Clean Regattas is the world’s only sustainability certification for water-based events. The program enables sailors to protect their local waters by empowering them with tips and resources to implement sustainability initiatives. Since 2006, more than 1,350 Clean Regattas have been run in 36 countries and in over half of all the United States. To learn more contact Robyn Albritton (robyn@sailorsforthesea.org) or visit sailorsforthesea.org.

Spazio Thetis: Generously gave Red Regatta access to the historic interior of the Venetian Arsenale to paint the sails. Working with art school students, sailors and community members, McGill utilized the massive scale of the space to paint the sails in different shades of red with the participants. Additional programming to be announced. Since its founding, Spazio Thetis supports and promotes contemporary art, exhibitions and meetings at its headquarters located in the ancient Venetian Arsenale. Thetis began his activity 25 years ago as “Consortium Thetis” with the ambition to create a hub for maritime technologies and activities inside the Arsenale of Venice. Since 1996, Thetis has developed specific expertise in sustainable development and environmental engineering, working in the lagoon of Venice, the only socio-economic and environmental system in the world that has kept its identity as the built and natural environment changes.