What dynamics underlie the exhibition and conservation project of a large museum? What lies behind the ephemeral space-time of a setup? How to create the optimal conditions for lending a work of art? A multi-voiced tale reveals this hidden world by intersecting architecture, engineering, and artisan knowledge. A path that allows the public to recognize the value of these challenges and solutions, making visible what normally remains invisible.

From major international exhibitions to delicate interventions on sensitive masterpieces created by the Venetian company OTTART, the book reveals how each exhibition is born from a shared, often invisible work that combines artisanal skills, historical knowledge, technological research, and care for the work. What usually remains behind the scenes appears here as a true laboratory of thought and action, in which the protection and valorization of works combine to make it possible to meet the public.
The invisible craft of exhibiting art is articulated through a series of essays and interviews that convey the complexity of this process as a daily practice, method, and responsibility. Essays by Maurizio Torcellan, Luca Massimo Barbero, and Veronica Rodenigo complement dialogues with professionals working in art institutions and construction sites: Alessandro Pedron, Massimo Alvisi, Maurizio Milan, David Landau, Annabelle Selldorf, Michele Coppola, and Karole Vail.

The volume describes these interventions as meeting places between artistic vision and technical expertise, and thus invites us to recognize the value of these “silent” professionals, essential for transforming every exhibition into an experience of meaning, encounter, and memory.