Venice Architecture Biennale exhibition showcases lives of immigrants and refugees

On Venice’s famous St Mark’s Square last week, a series of giant banners made passersby pause. A temporary art installation on the walls of the landmark Procuratie Vecchie showcased a hundred portrait of immigrants and refugees who left their country in search of a better life.

Each photograph from the 'Dreams in Transit' installation symbolised a bridge between a sometimes painful past, made of uprooting and survival, and the horizon of a new future.

The project, displayed from 3 to 7 September, is part of the After Migration programme launched by the Art for Action foundation for the 2025 Biennale Architettura.

It reflects the work of The Human Safety Net, an organisation helping refugees to settle in their host countries through work and entrepreneurship.

"The people [photographed here] are looking towards their future and just as we look at them and think about them, they are looking and thinking about their lives and their dreams," said The Human Safety Net CEO Emma Ursisch.

"The majority of these people are migrants and refugees that have participated in the programs of the Human Safety Net on the ground in three countries, France, Germany and Italy."

The Human Safety Net has supported over 13,000 refugees since 2017.

The 'Dreams in Transit' installation is part of a wider exhibition on the impacts of migration after arrival. The inside show features works by a group of international artists, including photographers Leila Alaoui and Sarah Makharine.

The exhibition combines video, photography, and immersive environments, to reflect on departures and new beginnings.

Pieces depict the stories of people who harbour dreams of a better life, like Sofia Polishchuk, a visitor and Ukrainian refugee who fled Kyiv for Germany.

“Now I'm working [part-time] Munich as a photographer in a studio, and I'm now working also as a self-employed photographer in Germany. My dreams are to become a full-time self-employed photographer and to travel around the world and picture people and places," she said.

The exhibition is having a powerful impression on visitors.

“It's certainly a great vehicle to transfer a thought and to spread the culture of accepting the other," said Annalisa, an Italian visitor.

"What is diversity? Diversity is a huge theme. Who are we to say that we are better than who and what? These are themes that are very important to me," she added.

The indoor 'Dreams in Transit' exhibition runs until 15 March 2026 in Venice.