fondazione dries van noten to open in april 2026

Dries Van Noten foundation to open in april 2026

Fondazione Dries Van Noten is set to open in April 2026 inside Venice’s Palazzo Pisani Moretta, positioning craftsmanship as a material, bodily, and imaginative act at the core of a new cultural platform. Overlooking the Grand Canal and located between the Rialto Bridge and Ca’ Foscari, the foundation is situated within a historic palazzo, proposing a framework that frames making as the common ground through which culture is formed, transmitted, and renewed. ‘Venice is more than a weekend destination; it’s a city full of life, from its markets to its young residents, with a one-of-a-kind cultural stimulus,’ notes Dries Van Noten.

Built in the late 15th century in the Venetian Gothic Fiorito style, Palazzo Pisani Moretta later became the residence of the Pisani Moretta family and underwent an extensive Rococo redecoration between 1735 and 1750 under Chiara Pisani (find designboom’s previous coverage here). Restored in the late 20th century, the building still preserves original furnishings and artworks, including paintings by Giambattista Tiepolo, Jacopo Guarana, Gaspare Diziani, and Giuseppe Angeli. The Fondazione activates these historic interiors as an active participant in its programming, allowing the layers of Venetian history to coexist with contemporary cultural production.

all images courtesy of Fondazione Dries Van Noten

a palazzo shaped by centuries of Venetian craft

At the heart of the Fondazione Dries Van Noten’s mission is an expanded understanding of craftsmanship, one that goes beyond traditional craft categories to include the gestures, skills, and time-based processes through which ideas take physical form.

This perspective allows historical techniques and contemporary experimentation to be considered part of the same continuum, rather than opposing forces. The program is structured around exchange rather than hierarchy. Established practitioners and emerging voices are brought into dialogue, encouraging cross-pollination between disciplines that are often institutionally separated. In this setting, architecture can converse with fashion, food with design, and material research with artistic expression. The goal is to reveal how diverse practices share common roots in material engagement and human labor.

Venice itself plays a critical role in shaping the outlook of the foundation. Positioned between bridges and calli, the Fondazione situates its activities within the everyday rhythms of the city, connecting local knowledge and skills with a wider international context. By opening the historic halls of Palazzo Pisani Moretta to the public through curated programs and activities, Fondazione Dries Van Noten extends the palazzo’s legacy into the present and proposes craftsmanship as a living, adaptive force that carries traditions forward while reinventing them.

Fondazione Dries Van Noten is set to open in April 2026

set inside Venice’s Palazzo Pisani Moretta

proposing a framework that frames making as the common ground

the palazzo is built in the late 15th century in the Venetian Gothic Fiorito style

restored in the late 20th century

he building still preserves original furnishings and artworks

the Fondazione activates these historic interiors as an active participant in its programming

allowing the layers of Venetian history to coexist with contemporary cultural production

at the heart of the Fondazione Dries Van Noten’s mission is an expanded understanding of craftsmanship

overlooking the Grand Canal and located between the Rialto Bridge and Ca’ Foscari

Fondazione Dries Van Noten extends the palazzo’s legacy into the present

project info:

name: Fondazione Dries Van Noten | @fondazionedriesvannoten
location: Palazzo Pisani Moretta, Grand Canal, Venice, Italy
opening: April 2026