Rita Sabo Receives ECC Italy “Artist as Activist” Award in Venice
The contemporary artist is honoured during Personal Structures – Confluences for her practice bridging art, ecology, and cultural responsibility
Courtesy by Rita Sabo
Contemporary artist Rita Sabo has been awarded the European Cultural Centre Italy Special Prize "Artist as Activist" during the Personal Structures – Confluences exhibition. The prize, which recognises both artistic excellence and social engagement, was presented by René Rietmeyer, Founder of the European Cultural Centre, during the opening on May 8, in the presence of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Dr. h.c. Ute Ohoven and curator Dr. Tayfun Belgin.
At Palazzo Bembo, Sabo presents her solo exhibition UNISON – The Fusion of High Cultures, where painting, sculpture, and spatial installation merge into a layered, immersive environment. The project invites visitors into a sensory field shaped by movement, resonance, and perception, drawing on symbolic systems, cultural memory, and expanded states of awareness. Sabo’s practice originates from a central nucleus and evolves through layered processes into complex fields of density and transformation. Her research spans ancient cultures, symbolic anthropology, architecture, and theories of perception, forming a distinctive visual language that reflects on cultural continuity and human consciousness.
Courtesy by Rita Sabo
A central element of the exhibition is the sculpture Sacred Planet, whose 17-colour composition reflects the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. First presented at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in 2023, the work has since been shown in major institutions including the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice, the Ludwig Museum in Koblenz, and the MAXXI Museum in Rome.
On view at Palazzo Bembo until September, UNISON – The Fusion of High Cultures invites visitors to experience an ongoing dialogue between art, ecology, and planetary responsibility.
