For the First Time in History, the State Archives of Venice Hosts an Art Exhibition Inside its Doors: "Archivio" by Dayanita Singh

Archivio di Stato in Venice - Photo: Cat Bauer

(Venice, Italy) Every one of us has a distinct style of handwriting. When we put pen to paper, our singular spirit is captured in the ink. Our soul is embedded in our signature. 

There are over 1,000 years of Venetian history written by hand and safeguarded in the vast Archivio di Stato di Venezia. More than 50 miles (80km) of state archives are shelved inside the former convent of the Franciscan Friars. That's a lot of soul power contained in one place.
 

Image from Archivio by Dayanita Singh 
from Venice Pillar 3
Photo: Cat Bauer

For the first time in its long history, the State Archives has opened its doors for a contemporary art exhibition: Archivio, by the renowned Indian photographer Dayanita Singh.

Her subject matter? Archives. Singh is archiving the archives. It's a quirky mission, appreciated by anyone with a passion for history, and how memory is shaped and preserved. Dayanita Singh has captured the human spirit of the Archivio di Stato with her lens, but the scope of the show goes far beyond its walls. 

Archivio is a tribute to both the institutional Italian archives Singh has documented over the past decade—like those in Venice, Rome and Naples—and her own evolving personal archive of images made across Italy over the last 25 years.

And it’s not just books and manuscripts on display. It’s also the people who work behind the scenes, the architecture of preservation, and Singh’s own museum-as-book philosophy. Her images are arranged in modular wooden pillars located in the Refettorio d'Inverno, the Winter Refectory.

Dayanita Singh at Archivio - Photo: Cat Bauer

The Archivio di Stato holds a special place in my heart. More than two decades ago, when I was a regular contributor to the International Herald Tribune's Italian supplement, Italy Daily, I wrote about it in an article published on August 30, 2002. Here's an excerpt, slightly edited:

"...in the campo to the right is the entrance to the Archivio di Stato (State Archive) on the former site of the small church of San Nicolò dei Frari, demolished in the early 19th century. One of the most important archives in the world, it occupies the former convent of the Franciscan Friars, once home to hundreds of friars. More than 1,000 years worth of documents from the Venetian Republic are stored in nearly 50 miles of shelving. Thanks to the efforts of Jacopo Chiodo, a Venetian lawyer, records were brought from the far reaches of the Republic and deposited in the friary in 1815.

The enormous friary contains three 3-story cloisters, packed with Venetian history. One of the Archive's most significant holdings is the series of volumes of the Senato series, a continuous record of daily decisions of the Venetian government that spans the period from about 1250 to 1792. 

The Venetians were meticulous record-keepers, and noted in detail anything pertinent to the entire Republic. A brief search revealed that news of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 traveled rapidly by way of the Venetian representative in England, and reached the Doge's inner circle in just seven weeks, on August 23, 1776.

The writings of popes, emperors, artists and scientists, as well as top-secret records from the Council of Ten are also stored here—everything from Catherine the Great's correspondence with the Republic to Tintoretto's last will..."

Winter Refectory of the Archivio di Stato di Venezia
Archivio by Dayanita Singh
Photo: Cat Bauer

The Refettorio d'Inverno is where the Franciscan Friars once gathered in silence to eat their meals. Today, the space has transitioned from a place to feed the body to a place to feed the mind. 

The Winter Rectory stores actual archives like Catasto terreni, Venetian land registries used for mapping and taxation. The space was recently restored, and is a functioning room of the Archivio di Stato. 

Amongst the uniform boxes that hold decades of records of Venetian boundaries and ownership of land, Singh has placed images of bundled archives from her native India, wrapped in fading red fabric like treasured gifts. The organically wrapped bundles of Indian records nestled between the uniform rows of European boxes illustrates the same longing to preserve records of the past using different methods. 

Singh's images of Indian archives wrapped in red cloth
nestled amongst European boxes
Photo: Cat Bauer

By placing her work here, Singh turns the act of archiving into a living, breathing experience, reminding us that history isn't just about the past—it's about the hands that recorded it and the eyes that find it again centuries later. She has united the cultures in a splendid way. 

We must remember the past so we are not doomed to repeat it. 

Inauguration of Archivio in the Sant'Antonio Cloister
Photo: Cat Bauer

The inauguration was a moving occasion, made possible by the vision of the Archivio di Stato’s director, Andrea Erboso, who has broken new ground by opening this historic institution to contemporary art. 

Andrea Anastasio, the curator, spoke from his heart about the profound nature of the collaboration, describing Singh’s unique vision:

Dayanita Singh's work unfolds at the intersection of photography, book-making, architecture, and memory, persistently challenging the conventions through which images are classified, preserved, and made meaningful. Over the course of more than three decades, Singh has redefined not only the status of the photographic image but also the very idea of the archive itself. In her practice, the archive ceases to be a neutral repository of the past and becomes instead a living, mutable form—one that is activated through sequencing, circulation, and intimate encounters with viewers. 

Archivio by Dayanita Singh runs from April 17 to July 31, 2026, and is free to enter. Don't enter through the Campo dei Frari. Go across the bridges and enter around the back through the Rio Terà San Tomà entrance. Visit Frith Street Gallery for more information. 

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
The Venice Gazette
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

ARCHIVIO Exhibition at a Glance

• Exhibition Title: Archivio
• Artist: Dayanita Singh
• Curator: Andrea Anastasio
• Venue: Archivio di Stato di Venezia (State Archives of Venice)
• Entrance: Rio Terà San Tomà, 30125 Venezia (Chiostro di Sant’Antonio)
• Dates: April 17 – July 31, 2026
• Times: Monday - Friday 12 noon to 6 PM 
• Admission: Free