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Programme
The first route of the museum ship will be the Mediterranean, an area of millennia of history and exchange, which has always mobilized and nourished the inspiration of artists, and naturally invites intercultural dialogue.
Discover the programme of activities on the quayside and in the towns: performances, concerts, conferences, screenings, workshops, meetings and other events.
Upcoming events
The underwater divines are flying and floating and melting with us
A visual and sonic symphony that immerses us in the mysteries of the deep sea, while also becoming an ode to imagination and creation. Based on a film by the artist Rosa Tharrats aboard a ship on an expedition with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, the performance includes a soundtrack created in situ, in a process of dramatic and musical improvisation led by musician Mau Boada (Esperit!), singer Clara Enrich-Genestar, and poet Gabriel Ventura.
Grief and grievance: listening as learning
On this occasion, Ikram Bouloum reappropriates her technique as a selector to present "Grief and grievance: listening as learning", a listening session in which she traces a journey through different musical genres and sound archives, entering into dialogue with her referents and opening up space for new superpositions to address questions of poetic belonging.
Winds know what maps have forgotten
”Winds know what maps have forgotten” is a hands-on, immersive workshop where sound, maps, and imagination meet. Participants inhabit a large floor map of the Mediterranean to create wind-inspired soundscapes, stories and speculative narratives.
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La Bissaperie
La Bissaperie is a collective invocation of Frantz Fanon's memory through a shared reading of his texts and the preparation of bissap, a hibiscus flower drink. I propose a friendly and horizontal meeting place focused on the revolutionary ideas of the thinker and a platform for people to connect with their identity, heritage and community.
Fiction and Lies. The Role of the Novel in the World of Post-Truth
In our time of fake news, disinformation, and political manipulation, the difference between truth and lies seems increasingly unclear. Artificial intelligence can distort our perceptions, and social media encloses us in bubbles that destroy the very idea of a shared reality. In this world, what place does fiction occupy—the old craft of telling stories that never happened? Can novels contain more truth than reality as we see it? The Colombian novelist Juan Gabriel Vásquez proposes a conversation about our relationship with invented stories in an increasingly uncertain world.
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Pulso y Horizonte (Pulse and Horizon)
“Pulso y Horizonte” is an instrumental project led by Pedro Javier González, one of the most respected guitarists on the contemporary Spanish music scene. Flamenco, jazz, world music and improvisation converge in an open, celebratory proposal inspired by the Mediterranean, where rhythmic pulse and collective dialogue shape a vibrant and highly communicative musical experience.
The Drought. An oasis.
The Drought: An Oasis is a contemporary flamenco performance that brings together dance, live guitar, and flamenco singing (cante) to explore themes of water, drought, and migration. Originally created in Southern Spain, this new version of the piece is now presented in Catalonia, while keeping its strong Andalusian roots.
The show reflects on the historical impact of Francoist hydraulic policies, including the Badajoz Decree, and on the migration of Andalusian working-class communities who moved to Catalonia to work in industry and construction. These histories are translated on stage through flamenco music and movement. Some of the lyrics are sung in Catalan, alongside Spanish, as a symbolic gesture that connects flamenco with the linguistic and cultural reality of Catalonia and Barcelona. On stage, the performance features flamenco dance, live guitar, and cante, combined with a strong visual dimension. The final part of the piece takes the form of a “final de fiesta” inspired by Rumba Catalana, bringing collective energy, rhythm, and celebration to the stage.
Disco Atlas (with accompanying artists)
The concept is centered on Disco Atlas’ own artistic project, in which he invites artists to join as surprise guests. By collaborating with Gnawa musicians—specifically emerging performers rather than established Maâlems—Disco Atlas highlights how the music he plays can organically merge with live instrumentation. The aim is to demonstrate that this sound is flexible, alive, and open to reinterpretation through live performance, creating a unique and spontaneous experience each time.
Breakwater: drift through forgotten spaces
Walking through the port and its surroundings based on a reflection on the sea as a forgotten space and its limits. The breakwater at sea and on land. The itinerary will unfold in dialogue with the notions of the artist and photographer Alan Sekula, maritime ex-votos, and urban transformation.
Breakwater: drift through forgotten spaces
Walking through the port and its surroundings based on a reflection on the sea as a forgotten space and its limits. The breakwater at sea and on land. The itinerary will unfold in dialogue with the notions of the artist and photographer Alan Sekula, maritime ex-votos, and urban transformation.
Seitons Masdeu Hola i Adeu
Seitons Masdeu Hola i Adeu is the official presentation of a vinegar-marinated anchovy company founded by the artist, daughter of the last fish auctioneer (crying out bids aloud) in Arenys de Mar, her hometown. The piece sits somewhere between a performative meal, a 1990s television program, and a theatrical work.
Stories from the Periphery, told by Silvia Albert Sopale and Kouyate Ansoumane
A collection of stories from diverse origins, told to broaden perspectives, open hearts, and bring souls closer together. All of these stories share a common thread: the presence of Afro-descendant people as protagonists. Brave, resilient, and joyful individuals who serve as mirrors for us to reflect on and imagine our own lives.
Past events
Bouchra Khalili – The Speeches Series—Words on the Streets
Words on Streets is a short film that features five immigrants in Genoa, Italy, w Developed collaboratively with members of migrant communities in Paris, Genoa, and New York, The Speeches Series highlights the power of speech and performance as tools for imagining alternative ways of belonging. ho create manifestos addressing nationality, citizenship, and belonging.
Lori Lako - Woven Echos Atelier
Through a workshop and presentation, Lori Lako engages participants in textile Through this workshop and presentation, Lako creates a space where participants engage with textile-preserving as both a personal and collective act, scanning personal pieces as a reflection on the shifting dynamics of labor, tradition, and identity.
Francesco Berati - Weaving Identity
Francesco Berati presents an artistic fashion show that brings attention to the importance of textiles within artistic production.
Lori Lako - Woven Echos Presentation
Through a workshop and presentation, Lori Lako engages participants in textile Through this workshop and presentation, Lako creates a space where participants engage with textile-preserving as both a personal and collective act, scanning personal pieces as a reflection on the shifting dynamics of labor, tradition, and identity.
Mimoza Ahmeti - The Approach
For this intimate presentation, poet and artist Mimoza combines poetry, music, and translation into a performative moment that blurs the boundaries of language, sound, and temporality.
Besa Mati - Extended DJ Set
Besa Mati is the first Albanian female DJ, hailing from Tirana, Albania, with a career spanning over two decades.
Reading session with Emira Shkurti from UNICEF
Join us for a reading session of the book « Të gjithë duhet të jemi feministë » with Emira Shkurti from UNICEF ! If you’re looking for an answer to the question « what does it mean to be a feminist today ? » the best response can be found in this book which explore this issue in a essayistic manner, reaching the conclusion that gender division has brought negative consequences for both men and women. The reading session is open to everybody and will create a friendly space for discussion and reflexion on feminism and gender.
THE THREE LINES
The three soloists are specialists in their field: Marine Sablonnière for medieval music, Henri Tournier for North Indian music and Isabelle Courroy for pastoral music from the Balkans and Anatolia, deploying the concept of oblique music which brings together music of creation and tradition.
The Albanian Cinematheque presents: Silent Mediterranean | A Premiere Cine-Concert
Curated by Albanian filmmaker Iris Elezi, Silent Mediterranean offers a rare cine-concert immersive experience featuring unique hand-tinted silent film travelogues from the Mediterranean region (1910–1927).
Elena Colombi - DJ Set
Elena Colombi’s sets are geared toward the unexpected. From cosmic psychedelia and pounding jungle to obscure post-punk and spoken word, they swirl through a cerebral world of noise.
Dardan Zhegrova - Lucky Pierre, Just from behind
Lucky Pierre is an ongoing performance series exploring intimacy, desire, and connection through a persona caught between giving and receiving, exposure and control. Inspired by queer slang, the character embodies duality, both active and passive, performing and being performed upon. Each episode unfolds through poetry, voice, movement, and sound, with a mask and costume serving as transformative tools that conceal and reveal. The work creates a space where personal experience and theatrical expression merge in a continuous negotiation of roles.
Rossella Biscotti - The Journey
The project re-imagines the Mediterranean region through sonic archives, which include sounds, songs, and voices from local musicians, fishermen, and activists.
Edona Vatoci & Viola
Edona Vatoci and Viola Recaj come together in a captivating sonic collaboration that merges electronic experimentation with raw, emotive vocals.
Contemporary Dance Workshop
This workshop aims to explore the energy, complexity and focus of contemporary dance. Participants will have the opportunity to develop their artistic expression skills and deepen their connection with their bodies and their environment.
Rachele Andrioli - Solo Concert "Leuca"
Thanks to her voice, to instruments such as the Jew's harp, the tambourine, the guitar, the harmonic flute, but also through the accomplished use of electronic machines, loop stations and others, Rachele Andrioli calls ancestral rituals, which carry the listener to suggestive and colorful elsewhere, where an inventive polyphony seems to spring forth in an unexpected, urgent, alive Salento.
Frequently asked questions
The Art Explora Festival will take place from spring 2024 to spring 2026 in various Mediterranean cities.
Festival events take place both on the museum boat's quay and in heritage and/or emblematic sites in the stopover towns. To find out all about upcoming events in your town, consult our Agenda.
The Art Explora Festival offers a rich, multi-disciplinary program including visits to the museum ship, exhibition pavilions, virtual reality experiences, artistic performances, concerts, lectures, film screenings, creative workshops and meetings. You'll be able to discover local and international artists, as well as thinkers and cultural players exploring contemporary themes related to the Mediterranean region. To find out all about upcoming events in your city, consult our Agenda.
All Festival events are free of charge. Please note, however, that some events - such as workshops - require a reservation via the ticket office. Please consult the page dedicated to each event for more information on times and booking procedures.
To ensure that everyone has the best possible experience at the Festival, we have drawn up a visitors' charter listing a few good practices.
Yes, the boat is freely accessible on site. However, you can pre-book your time online on our website.
For reasons of safety and preservation of the boat, high heels and stilettos may not be worn on the boat.
To take part in the workshops and meetings offered during the Festival, you'll generally need to register in advance. Information on how to register will be available on the dedicated event page, where you can also find details of times and how to take part.
Yes, the Art Explora Festival also offers child-friendly activities, such as creative workshops specially designed for young participants. Take a look at the program to find out about events and activities for children and families.
The museum boat is open to all free of charge. To find out on which quay it will be moored, or to pre-book your slot, consult the page dedicated to your town.
Appropriate facilities have been set up on the Festival site for the reception and access of people with reduced mobility. The boat is equipped with a 1m-wide ramp, accessible to people with reduced mobility, but may require the accompaniment of a third party due to its gradient of over 6%. Access to the aft deck and immersive exhibition is possible. However, the upper deck is not accessible. Please inform us in advance of any special accessibility requirements, so that we can make the necessary arrangements.
Thank you for your interest in the Art Explora Festival! To find out more about our volunteer opportunities and to apply, please visit our "Become a volunteer"section of our website. There you'll find all the information you need about the roles available and the application procedure. We look forward to meeting you!
We're delighted to consider new partnerships for the Art Explora Festival. To find out how, please visit our dedicated page or write to us at contact@artexplora.org