The Art Class travelled to Venice by train on an Interrail journey. It was an incredible experience—both the journey through Europe itself and our time in Venice and at the Venice Biennale.

We began by visiting exhibitions across the city before spending the final three days exploring the Biennale sites in the Giardini and the Arsenale. We were also fortunate to be invited for a studio visit with visual artist Thomas Fos, who lives and works in the city’s labyrinthine streets.

Experiencing Venice is, in itself, a journey through history, art, and a unique way of being in the world. The gentle movement of the sea and the abundance of artistic impressions seem to create an organic and living connection to everything around you.

This year’s Biennale appeared to contain just about everything. From Maja Malou Lyse’s contribution to the Danish Pavilion, which explores fertility, to Japan’s pavilion just across from it, featuring baby dolls whose diapers visitors can change, and Austria’s Florentina Holzinger, presenting a raw and uncompromising performance work. Presence, absence, and countless threads—some tightly woven, others seemingly lost—were all part of this year’s Venice Biennale.

By the time we began our journey back to Denmark, we were filled with impressions and inspiration. We returned grateful and happy to have experienced the magic that this city and its art continue to offer, even in times like these. Contemporary art mirrors the world, and sometimes the world seems to be located precisely in Venice.