Relight Venice

I don’t feel to belong to any strict category, I’m not a proper painter nor sculptor, but rather I am an explorer. 

Founder of Relight Venice, Michela Bortolozzi is a designer born and based in Venice, Italy.

Traveling, in fact, is a key part of my work and during my long journeys, in my practice, I like to try different materials and techniques in close interaction with the local people. Everything moves from curiosity and the will to have fun getting to know different cultures through their traditions. Traveling helps me make connections with others and it is their experiences and skills that allow me to transform my designs into stories. 
 After graduating at IUAV University I’ve studied and worked in Morocco, Palestine and South Africa, and during these travels I’ve always found important to get close to the local community. 

In each city, I’ve created objects and organised events in collaboration with local artisans. Using my hands is a fundamental part of my creative process, integrated by my sensitivity, the essence of the material, and the passion of the people I meet. The best part of my work is exchanging and sharing with others, with no barriers. This act of ‘walking hand by hand’ is my work, and this is why I like to describe myself as a nomad creative. 

Anyway, in the end, I always go back home, to my Venice: on one hand, I always find it identical, with its bells, canals, and three-part windows, on the other, I see how it is becoming ever more fragile due to this aggressive type of tourism.

I decided to go back to Venice to tell the stories I’ve learned and lived through my artwork, and, at the beginning of 2020, I opened my studio in Cannaregio, where I divide my time between my work as a designer with the one of sculptor teacher.

I set up shop in an appropriately-named location: Calle Zancani 2430, near Campo Santa Fosca.  The store was named Eat and Run (as a reminder of how NOT to experience Venice) and in 2023 changed his name to Relight Venice, declaring the aim of giving back to the city its light.  My work is made entirely of locally-sourced, sustainable, and renewable materials. I sculpt candles into recreations of famous Venetian architectural designs, I also make and sell architectural lollipops.  When you consume it, all that remains is the stick—a reference to over-consumption.  I am part of a movement that wants to promote and support local craftsmanship in Venice.