A cultural programme exploring the relationship between conservation and memory in contexts marked by contemporary conflicts.
Curated by the Event, Exhibition and Project Management for Culture teams – Culture Makers Venezia 2025/2026
Venice, UIA – International University of Art, Villa Hériot
9–10 July 2026
Opening hour:
9 July: 6:00–9:00 pm
10 July: 10:00 am–6:00 pm
Admission: Free
On 9 and 10 July 2026, the premises of the UIA – International University of Art will host (all that) Remains, a cultural programme reflecting on the relationship between conservation and memory in territories affected by war.
Starting from the works of Mosaab J. M. Abusal and Hannes Egger, and through a public talk, a reading corner, and a participatory action, the project invites visitors to reflect on what survives after loss and on the role that conservation can play when it is called upon to engage not only with the preservation of material heritage, but also with stories, relationships, and identities.
What remains after destruction? What survives when only traces of material reality are left behind? And what role can conservation play when buildings are not simply deteriorated by time, but erased by the violence of war?
These questions give rise to (all that) Remains, a cultural project that transforms the spaces of UIA into a place for dialogue on memory, loss, and reconstruction. Through artworks, testimonies, and shared actions, the project reflects on the relationship between presence and absence, exploring what continues to exist when materiality disappears but memory endures.
At a historical moment in which homes and places of everyday life are being destroyed by armed conflicts in various parts of the world, the field of conservation is also confronted with new responsibilities. When loss affects not only buildings but also the communities that inhabit them, conservation can no longer be limited to preserving material objects alone: it must also engage with the value of memory, testimony, and cultural transmission.
Within a school dedicated to conservation and restoration, this reflection takes on a particular significance. Since its foundation, UIA has defined itself as “a free and autonomous institution, experimental and active in the education of scholars, specialists, and technicians dedicated to the conservation and transmission of artistic heritage within a context of cultural and social awareness.” It is from this legacy that (all that) Remains emerges.
The project therefore focuses on a moment that is rarely considered: the time between destruction and reconstruction. It is a suspended moment in which material intervention is not yet possible, and in which care takes shape through observation, listening, and the acknowledgement of loss.
Exhibition
At the heart of the project is an exhibition that brings into dialogue the artistic practices of Mosaab J. M. Abusal and Hannes Egger, two artists who address, from different perspectives, the themes of memory, conflict, and the material and immaterial traces they leave behind.
The exhibition begins in the storage room, where the materials and tools of the restoration school are kept. A space usually dedicated to preservation becomes the starting point for a reflection on what remains after destruction and on the role of conservation in the face of such loss.
Originally from Gaza, Mosaab J. M. Abusal develops an artistic practice that intertwines personal and collective memory through drawing. The works originally intended for this exhibition were destroyed during the conflict, yet their absence itself becomes an integral part of the exhibition. In their place, a photographic projection evokes their presence through images. The projection thus becomes the trace of something that no longer exists, making visible the tension between absence and presence.
Hannes Egger, by contrast, works through conceptual and participatory practices that place visitors at the centre of the experience. For (all that) Remains, he has created a site-specific work using dust collected from a private home destroyed during the war in Ukraine. This almost imperceptible material becomes testimony to loss, inviting visitors to engage physically with what remains after destruction.
The exhibition unfolds in the central atrium of the UIA, transformed into a suspended landscape of hanging fabrics. These evoke the tents of refugee camps, the sheets used to cover bodies, and the protective tarpaulins employed during restoration work or the transport of artworks. These materials evoke both protection and mourning, becoming ghostly traces of an absence—the shape of what is no longer there.
Programme
The activities accompanying the exhibition expand and deepen the themes it raises, offering visitors different ways to observe, listen, reflect, and participate.
1. Talk (9 July, 7:30–8:15 pm)
A public conversation bringing together professionals from the fields of conservation, restoration, and contemporary culture. Through testimonies and professional experiences, the discussion focuses on destruction in conflict zones, memory as shared heritage, and the cultural responsibilities involved in processes of reconstruction.
2. Reading Corner (throughout the exhibition)
A temporary space dedicated to reading and research, set up in the garden of the UIA in collaboration with MarcoPolo Bookshop. Visitors are invited to spend time there, browse a curated selection of books, and participate in individual or shared reading sessions, transforming the written word into a tool for knowledge, listening, and enrichment.
3. Participatory Action (throughout the exhibition)
An activity inviting visitors to engage directly with questions of personal and collective memory, reflecting on the value of memories and their preservation as a shared cultural heritage.
An opportunity to consider how we preserve, transmit, and care for what continues to live on in memory, even after its material form has disappeared.
Artists
Mosaab J. M. Abusal is a visual artist from Gaza who has worked in the fields of visual arts and graphic design since 2009. He holds a diploma in Graphic Design from the University College of Science and Technology and a degree in Fine Arts from Al-Aqsa University.
In 2010 he presented his first solo exhibition, Kawamin, and has since participated in numerous group exhibitions both in the Gaza Strip and internationally. In 2013 he co-organised the exhibition Dimensions together with four other artists from Gaza.
He has worked as an art teacher in UNRWA schools in Gaza and has collaborated with several organisations in the fields of graphic design and motion graphics. He also taught at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Al-Aqsa University.
In 2010 and 2013 he received the Return Award for Best Poster, presented by the BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights in Bethlehem.
Hannes Egger (born 1981 in Bolzano, Italy) studied philosophy at the University of Vienna. He currently teaches at the Faculty of Art and Design of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.
His work has been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including: Flux Factory (New York, USA); Schema Art Museum (South Korea); Spazio Punch (Venice, Italy); Lottozero (Prato, Italy); Belvedere 21 (Vienna, Austria); Künstlerhaus (Vienna, Austria); House of Arts (Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic); ZKM (Karlsruhe, Germany); Curitiba International Biennial (Brazil); The MAC (Dallas, USA); MART – Galleria Civica di Trento (Italy); Galleria Premio Suzzara (Italy); Magazin4 (Bregenz, Austria); Centro d’Arte (Cavalese, Italy); MEWO Kunsthalle (Memmingen, Germany); Museion (Bolzano, Italy); Galerie M (Berlin, Germany); Fondazione Barriera (Turin, Italy); Empty Cube (Lisbon, Portugal); Museu de l’Empordà (Figueres, Spain); Kunsthalle Krems (Austria); DOX (Prague, Czech Republic); Quartair (The Hague, Netherlands); Forte di Fortezza (Italy); Art Center Krasnoyarsk (Russia); the Venice Biennale (Italy); and EXPORT Kubus (Vienna, Austria).
Press Contact
UIA – International University of Art
Email: tecnica@uiavenezia.com
Phone: +39 041 528 7090
Hannes Egger 