From September 21 to October 11, Venerato becomes an open-air sculpture studio, where artists from China, Cuba, and Greece create five new marble works that visitors can watch take shape for free.
If you have ever wondered what happens between a huge block of marble and the finished sculpture sitting quietly in a public square, Heraklion has a rather good answer. Go to Venerato and watch it happen.
The village, in the Municipality of Heraklion’s Paliani area, will host the 11th International Sculpture Symposium from September 21 through October 11, bringing together five sculptors from Greece, China and Cuba.
For twenty days, the artists will work on large blocks of white marble in a specially prepared outdoor space. Unlike an exhibition where the artwork appears mysteriously finished, this one lets visitors see the messy, noisy, and surprisingly physical process behind it.
Best of all, the public can visit the site and watch the artists work for free.
From China and Cuba to a Cretan village
The five participating artists are Óscar Laureliano Aguirre Comendador from Cuba, Yang Liu from China, and Greek sculptors Antonis Myrodias, Lida Pavli and Manolis Charkoutsis.
Their task is wonderfully straightforward: take enormous pieces of white marble and turn them into five finished sculptures over the course of the symposium.
The finished works will become property of the Municipality of Heraklion and will eventually be placed in public spaces around the city and its villages.
So this isn’t art that arrives in Crete in a shipping crate.
Crete gets to watch it being born.
Twenty years of carving
The symposium itself is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
It began as a pilot event in 2006 through the efforts of sculptors Manolis Charkoutsis and Christos T. Soumblekas and the then Municipality of Paliani. Artists from Greece and abroad were invited, and the local community quickly embraced the idea.
Since then, sculptors from 20 countries have participated, while 34 Greek sculptors have also taken part, including university professors.
The event has produced 73 works of art in materials including porous stone, Gortyna marble and white marble. Some are already installed around Heraklion and its villages, while others remain in the outdoor sculpture park at Venerato awaiting their next public home.
This year’s event adds China and Cuba to that international history.
For travelers staying in Heraklion, this is the sort of cultural experience that can easily get overlooked in favor of the obvious attractions.
Visitors can head into the countryside, find the sculpture site in Venerato, and watch artists from three countries work with one of the oldest and most demanding artistic materials.
And because the sculptures will eventually become part of the public landscape, the experience doesn’t end when October does.
Somewhere in Heraklion, you’ll eventually walk past one of these pieces and know you watched it being made.