The Exhibition
The eighth edition of Personal Structures, the biennial contemporary art exhibition organised by ECC Italy in Venice, will welcome visitors from 9 May to 22 November 2026. Running alongside La Biennale di Venezia, the exhibition will unfold across three iconic venues, Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and the Marinaressa Gardens, offering a vibrant stage for installations, paintings, sculptures, and performances.
Personal Structures 2026 is shaped around the theme Confluences, aiming to be the place where artistic practices, cultures, and disciplines intersect, contaminate one another, and generate new possibilities for coexistence. Artworks and languages intersect in a continuously transforming collective fabric, making the curatorial process visible and opening a space for reflection on the present and future possibilities where society, nature, and technology engage in an ever-evolving dialogue.
To explore past editions of Personal Structures, you can visit the dedicated page.
Press Releases & Articles
Explore Personal Structures 2026 through the official Press Kit, featuring press releases and selected images. Visit the Press Page to access articles and critical insights from the international press.
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Personal Structures
Since 2011, Personal Structures has been organised every two years by the European Cultural Centre Italy in its venues in the heart of Venice. The biennial exhibition reflects the diversity of contemporary artistic practices, presenting works that transcend ideological, political, and geographical boundaries.
Originally conceived in 2002 as an open platform for artistic exchange, Personal Structures was developed as a space for artists to share their work and ideas through exhibitions, symposia, and publications. The project emerged in response to the growing tendency toward impersonal and detached artistic practices, reaffirming the central role of individual experience and sensibility. It is grounded in the belief that every artwork, even in its most minimal form, carries an intrinsic connection to the artist’s consciousness, making it inherently personal.
Exhibition Venues
Our exhibitions unfold within the historic venues of Palazzo Bembo and Palazzo Mora, as well as across the public outdoor spaces of Marinaressa Gardens. Visit our iconic locations in Venice and explore them through immersive Virtual Tours.
Gallery
Personal Structures on Video
Each year, Personal Structures is accompanied by a series of filmed conversations and visual narratives that offer a more personal and emotional exploration of the exhibition’s themes.
Through interviews with artists and curators, these films give voice to individual perspectives and document meaningful moments shared throughout the year. Beyond presenting the artworks, the videos capture the human connections, exchanges, and experiences that unfold in Venice, offering an intimate look at the project as it evolves, both within the exhibitions and behind the scenes at the ECC Italy.