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. Held in parallel with La Biennale di Venezia, the exhibition will take place across our three iconic venues: Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and the Marinaressa Gardens, offering a vibrant stage for installations, paintings, sculptures, and performances.
For the 2026 edition, Personal Structures will explore the relationship between individuals, communities, and their environments, highlighting how personal narratives shape the collective human experience. Bringing together an international group of established and emerging exhibitors, the exhibition will foster dialogue, cultural exchange, and new perspectives on the intricate global landscape.
We invite a dynamic network of artists, galleries, universities, and cultural institutions to participate, providing them with a platform to share their vision with a global audience.
To explore the past editions of Personal Structures, you can check out the dedicated page.
Multidisciplinary artists and creatives from all over the world
The protagonists of the 2024’s group show were renowned as well as emergent international multimedia artists, photographers, sculptors, performers along with art and academic institutions, who articulated their visions, reflections, and responses to the multifaceted aspects of today’s society.
Discover the 2024 participants
Personal Structures
Since 2011, Personal Structures has been organised every two years by the European Cultural Centre in its venues in the heart of Venice. The biennial exhibition documents the diversity of contemporary art today, featuring different expressions from artists that break away from any ideological, political and geographical barriers.
The project Personal Structures was born in 2002 as an open platform where artists could present their work and thoughts by means of exhibitions, symposia and publications. It was created as a reaction to non-subjective art, to the emerging trend of art without the touch of the artist; a non-personal approach. In response to this impersonalisation of artworks, the European Cultural Centre’s founder and artist René Rietmeyer imagined a project that, on the opposite, states that every artwork, even the most minimalist work, is made intrinsically with a part of the artist’s consciousness, and is thus, somehow, personal.
Exhibition Venues
Our exhibitions take place in the historical venues of Palazzo Bembo and Palazzo Mora and the two public outdoor spaces of Marinaressa Gardens. Visit our iconic spaces in Venice and explore them through virtual tours.
Gallery
Personal Structures on Film
Every year our project is enhanced by a series of videos which delve into our values.
Meet our team and hear what the exhibitors have to say about us and their experiences in Venice. Find out how our exhibitions and activities have developed through the years and what happens behind the scenes at the European Cultural Centre.