Through a series of projects that study and celebrate art and crafts, the Foundation Dries Van Noten creates a space for transition and sharing in the heart of Venice. Inside the historic Palazzo Pisani Moretta, overlooking the Grand Canal, the Dries Van Noten Foundation celebrates craftsmanship as a living expression of cultural identity.

Venice is the ideal location for this work, not an immobile museum, but a pulsating organism, in constant transformation: a place where ideas circulate freely –like the tides– and take shape through materials, gestures and the slow time of doing.

In April 2026, the Foundation will create a space for dialogue and collaboration between established masters and emerging talents in the fields of art, design, fashion, architecture, gastronomy, and beyond. A crossing point, where tradition meets the present and is constantly renewed. At its core, the human dimension of creation: artisans, designers, artists, and young creatives whose work fuels and transforms culture. The new generations will not be mere visitors, but active protagonists, called upon to contribute and redefine the creative landscape.

This volume chronicles the Foundation’s first project, The Only True Protest is Beauty, through a rich selection of clothing, photographs, jewelry, furnishings, and high-quality craftsmanship from around the world. The works dialogue with each other, intertwining past and present, local traditions and international visions, in a path that opens up new interdisciplinary perspectives. The texts of Glenn Adamson, Alexander Fury, Ezra Babski and Dries Van Noten frame this multidisciplinary and bold approach at the same time.

An invitation to recognize the enduring strength of craftsmanship and to imagine, together, the cultural landscapes of tomorrow.