The Dries Van Noten Foundation in Venice will open its first presentation, titled The Only True Protest Is Beauty, on display from April 25 until October 4, 2026. Curated by Dries Van Noten with Geert Bruloot, the presentation explores craftsmanship as a language of expression and a conduit for emotion. The title draws on a line by American singer-songwriter and political activist Phil Ochs, whose songs became protest anthems in the 1960s: “In such ugly times, the only true protest is beauty.”

Works from fashion, jewellery, design, art, photography, glass, ceramics, and material experimentation move beyond the boundaries of traditional disciplines, responding to one another to challenge assumptions, unsettle expectations, and reveal the profoundly human dimension of making.

Within the rooms of Palazzo Pisani Moretta, the pieces engage with the building and with each other. As visitors move from the ground floor through the Piano Nobile levels, over two hundred objects resonate with ceilings, frescoes, and ornamental details, forming interactions that unfold with rhythm and intuition. Affinities emerge and contrasts ripple through space, each composition carrying the tension between mastery and discovery, between reflection and provocation. The Palazzo itself becomes an active participant, guiding perception and shaping the relationships between forms, materials, and histories.

Beauty here is not a fixed ideal but a questioning presence. Making becomes a process of discovery, a dialogue that carries the traces of intention and imagination. Visitors move through moments of resonance and disruption, where perception awakens, and possibilities unfold, and craft reveals itself as an ongoing process of inquiry and encounter.

The only true protest is beauty
April 25 – October 4, 2026
> Fondazione Dries Van Noten
San Polo, 2766
30125 Venezia (VE)