Guardasala Diary @ the Venice Biennale, 2026

The Guardasala Diary is a participatory art project being led by Camille Serisier at the 61st Venice Biennale. This project is part of the 2026 British Council Fellowship programme, which supports creative research projects annually at the Venice art and architecture biennales. Each fellow undertakes a creative project as part of the fellowship programme and the Guardasala Diary is Camille’s fellowship project. The Guardasala Diary is being run in collaboration with a small team of 2026 British Council Fellows who have volunteered to act as project facilitators. The project is also supported by key stakeholders, including the British Council and M+B Studios. Guardasala means ‘looker of the room’ in Italian and the title was kindly suggested by Annapaola Passarini from the M+B Studio’s team in Venice.

At essence, this project centres on a hard copy visual diary that is living in the British Pavilion for the duration of Predicting History: Testing Translation, Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska’s installation at the 61st Venice Biennale. All 63 fellows from the 2026 programme have been invited to contribute their creative reflections about the installation and their experiences of invigilating the pavilion to the Guardasala Diary. The diary is designed to elicit informed reflections about the show from those who will spend the most time within it – the Fellows. The diary is also designed to build community amongst individual fellows and fellowship groups.‍

As the diary takes form, it is being filled with fragmented experiences and diverse perspectives. 2026 has been a politically charged biennale with protests and controversy. These events have filtered into the diary in complex and intriguing ways - covering strikes, racism, animal invasions, international politics, working conditions, personal vulnerability, community building, and moments of quiet contemplation. Within these pages are drawings and epistolary texts that convey new insights about what contemporary Britain is, how British art is perceived, and what it is to be a British artist.

This is a live project running between January 2026 and mid 2027. This includes the 7 months the biennale is open in Venice.

The Guardasala Diary is led by Camille Serisier with the support of:

Alongside M+B Studio team members:

  • Annapaola Passarini

  • Francesco D’Alessio

  • Anna Purna Nativo

And British Council representatives:

  • Sophie Lucas

  • Becky Schutt