In the final year of the National Committee for the celebrations of the centenary of Mischa Scandella’s birth (1921–2021), the Institute of Theatre and Opera, as its promoting body, proposes an exhibition itinerary along which to retrace the Venetian set designer’s artistic career, showing the public the beauty and extraordinary wealth of the artist’s personal archive, donated to the Institute by his son Giovanni.

The exhibition, curated by Maria Ida Biggi, Nicola Bruschi and Lorenzo Cutuli, will be housed in the Magazzino del Sale No. 3 at the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, and will allow the public to get closer to the work of Mischa Scandella, who – having trained in the cultural fervour of post-war Venice – made his debut in the world of university theatres in Venice and Padua, before going on to establish himself on a national level. Over the course of his long career, Scandella worked alongside the great names in Italian theatre, including Gianfranco de Bosio, Anton Giulio Bragaglia, Vittorio Gassman, Giovanni Poli, Guido Salvini and Giorgio Strehler.

This major initiative follows the publication of the book name by Maria Ida Biggi, La scena magica di Mischa Scandella, published by Silvana editoriale, Milan 2022.