Florentina Holzinger
61st Biennale di Venezia, Italy
Austrian Pavilion
9 May - 22 November 2026
The Austrian Pavilion at the 61st Biennale di Venezia is curated by Nora-Swantje Almes, who focuses on performance and feminist practice. Holzinger’s project SeaWorld Venice will transform the Pavilion into a dynamic, multi-sensory environment. Known for her genre-defying practice that uses the body as both subject and medium, Holzinger draws on her long-standing research into water to imagine new ways of living, resisting and transforming. Combining dance, theatre and performance, she approaches water as both symbol and element — a site where nature and technology meet. The project features a monumental water installation within the Pavilion and a series of site-specific performances across Venice and its lagoon. Inspired by figures such as Ophelia, sirens and mermaids, SeaWorld Venice reimagines Venice as a feminist, amphibious city confronting the climate crisis through resilience and collective transformation.
Florentina Holzinger (born 1986 in Vienna) is a choreographer and artist whose work blurs the boundaries between dance, theatre and performance art. Known for her physically demanding and visually striking productions, she examines identity, femininity and power through the lens of the performing body. Drawing on traditions from Viennese Actionism to ballet, cabaret and stunt work, Holzinger reimagines the female body as a site of resistance and transformation. She has presented acclaimed works across major international stages and festivals, including Wiener Festwochen, Ruhrtriennale, Volksbühne Berlin and Theatertreffen.
This is her second collaboration with Phileas, following her large-scale commission Harbout Etude at Bergen Kunsthall, Norway in 2024.
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61st Biennale di Venezia, Italy
