Exhibitions

TURANDOT: To the Daughters of the East

Venice, Italy

Eleven female artists reclaim the myth of Turandot, weaving Central Asian history into the grand halls of a Venetian palazzo.

TURANDOT: To the Daughters of the East

Meet the artist

Lida Abdul, Afruz Amighi, Huma Bhabha, Hera Büyüktașcıyan, Mona Hatoum, Saodat Ismailova, Madina Joldybek, Nazira Karimi, Daria Kim, Farideh Lashai, Tala Madani

The Movement

Art Installation, Contemporary Art, Textile, Video Art Movement

ArtLovers Tip

Look closely at Farideh Lashai’s work; her practice often blends painting with subtle video projections, creating a haunting layered effect that is easy to miss if you rush past.

Exhibition Highlights - What you’ll see

The figure of Turandot has long been trapped in the Western imagination as a cold, exotic enigma. This exhibition returns her to her roots—the Daughters of the East—by bringing together eleven female artists from regions once known as Turan. Through the lens of contemporary video, sculpture, and sound, the show explores the resilience and intellectual depth of women whose identities have been shaped by the Silk Road ancient crossroads. It is a powerful reclamation of agency, timed with the centenary of Puccini's opera but anchored in the 12th-century Persian poetry that first gave the princess a voice.

You're watching the interplay of light and shadow across the ornate interiors of Palazzo Franchetti, where Madina Joldybek's textiles and Saodat Ismailova's immersive installations bridge the gap between nomadic tradition and modern existence. The air carries a sense of weight and history, as Mona Hatoum's sculptures and Tala Madani's sharp visual wit challenge your perceptions of the East. Each room feels like a chapter in a long-lost epic, inviting you to listen to the whispers of Central Asian history echoing through the Venetian stone.

Worth the trip

  • A Geographic Bridge: Experience a rare gathering of contemporary voices from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan, countries whose artistic scenes are seldom showcased at this scale in Europe.
  • Historical Symmetry: Visit Venice precisely a century after Puccini's Turandot first took the stage at La Scala, seeing the myth deconstructed within a city that served as the historic gateway for Eastern trade.
  • Palatial Dialogue: Observe how site-specific installations by artists like Hera Büyüktașcıyan interact with the Gothic Revival architecture of Palazzo Franchetti, creating a conversation between Venetian grandeur and Central Asian narratives.

How to experience it

Begin your journey by slowly climbing the grand staircase of Palazzo Franchetti, letting the scale of the architecture prepare you for the monumental themes within. Give yourself ample time for the video works by Lida Abdul and Daria Kim; these pieces require a quiet stillness to fully grasp their emotional gravity. After leaving the palazzo, walk toward the Accademia Bridge to watch the sunset over the Grand Canal, reflecting on how the silk and spices that once traveled these waters also carried the stories and myths you just witnessed.

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