Es Devlin Tapped as Artistic Director for Homo Faber Biennale

Homo Faber Biennial, the international celebration of contemporary craftsmanship in Venice, has lined up the global multidisciplinary talent Es Devlin as the artistic director for its 2026 edition.

The British artist has dreamt up “An Island of Light,” which will be curated by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship. The nonprofit was established by Compagnie Financière Richemont’s chairman Johann Rupert and Italian entrepreneur Franco Cologni with the mission to promote, encourage and preserve fine artisanal practices in different fields. The fourth edition of the Homo Faber Biennale will be held on San Giorgio Maggiore island in partnership with Fondazione Giorgio Cini during the month of September.

Devlin’s work has been staged all around the globe and features momentous installations and kinetic performance sculptures in museums, galleries, theaters, opera houses and Olympic stadiums. Her “Library of Light” installation reeled in nearly 200,000 visitors to Pinacoteca di Brera at Salone del Mobile in Milan this spring.

During an interview Wednesday at the Fasano Fifth Avenue, Alberto Cavalli, executive director of the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, said, “We are very excited. She is an extraordinary human being and a talented and visionary artist. She’s also an incredibly generous professional.”

Talks started about the project a year ago in London, where Devlin is based. Her ability to give “a space an identity without jeopardizing what’s inside” was one of the aspects of her work that appealed to Homo Faber organizers. As the name suggests, “An Island of Light,” winks at its location. The idea that an island is not just something that can be separated, but that can become part of something else was inviting. Beyond Devlin’s thorough and conscious use of light, light is something that is being used metaphorically, since the foundation exists to give light, visibility and nourishment to master artisans, Cavalli said. “Light is the energy that allows every transformation to happen,” he said.

Next fall’s island of light will have 12 or 13 spaces that will unfold in a path with each Devlin-imagined space containing objects that reflect the identity of the room. For example, one will be inspired by water, due partially to the fact that throughout history, human beings have understood that water is life,” Cavalli said. “And we have always been crafting objects to keep and store water. There will be this beautiful half-moon in the installation and vases, moon jars and vessels.”

Expecting to show more than 500 objects from 70-plus countries around the world, there will be plenty of consideration to the color choices and all of the elements to ensure there is a certain consistency. Sourcing has not yet started but the aim is to finalize the selection by late April, “because then the most muscular part — the logistics — will start,” Cavalli said.

He and Devlin will reconvene for a public talk Thursday in Miami, where her “Library of Us” art installation, a gigantic rotating triangular bookcase with a few thousand books, is now on view on Miami Beach for Art Basel. Encircled by a pool, the piece is also surrounded by desks for readers. 

The artist’s many talents include drawing her ideas, which makes her like an artisan, “shaping ideas into projects,” Cavalli said. Her interest in artisans’ work and her knack for transforming creations into objects of beauty aligns with Homo Faber, Cavalli said. “She also has a profound respect for the compassion that humans have and the importance of the human touch,” he said. “Everything she does is so respectful of the human dignity.”

Creating a sense of community is also evident in her work in theater and entertainment, with Lady Gaga’s 2025 Coachella performance, The Weeknd’s “After Hours Til Dawn” world tour and the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, which featured Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige being part of her portfolio.

Next fall, approximately 2,000 visitors will tour “An Island of Light” each day and they will be able to enjoy eight restaurants that are being created. “More important than figures is the interest and joy that you see in the people, because maybe they have been surprised by the ingenuity and the ideas of these artisans. And maybe tomorrow you can commission something that will suit you. It also serves as an invitation to our visitors to become collectors and commissioners. Yes, perhaps it’s expensive but often it’s less expensive than you think,” Cavalli said. “Objects made for you last and they don’t end up in a landfill in two months.”