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Navy Officers Club, Circolo Ufficiali Marina Militare Calle Seconda de la Fava, 2168, 30122 Venezia VE

For the second year in a row, we have invited Venice Bienniale’s chic vernissage crowd to enjoy a programme of talks, performances and respite over artfully, handcrafted cocktails in the Renaissance cloister of this celebrated venue and against the backdrop of group show ‘When Solidarity is Not a Metaphor’ by Alserkal Initiatives, Lightbox and Cité internationale des arts.

Five bespoke X MUSE cocktails, inspired by curator Adriano Pedrosa’s theme for this year’s Biennale ‘Foreigners Everywhere’ will be served up, as well as our X Muse Signature Martini.

Discover the X MUSE Cocktail Programme

In 1895, the Biennale of Venice was established by the International Exhibition of Art in Venice. It aims to promote "the noblest activities of the modern spirit without distinction of country."

The name, perhaps obviously, refers to the event taking place every two years. The first-ever Biennale attracted over 200,000 visitors and artists from 16 different countries. Since its inception, the event has garnered worldwide reputability, drawing in artists from across the globe and millions of visitors.

Initially focused on paintings and sculptures, the festival expanded. 1932 marked the debut of the International Film Festival, while 1934 added the International Theatre Festival. Following the Second World War, it became an international centre for contemporary art and avant-garde art, and in 1998 the festival was expanded to also showcase dance and architectural design.

Today, the festival averages an attendance of over 300,000 visitors exploring all areas of art, design, theatre, music, cinema, architecture and dance, all of which we draw our inspiration from.

The Venice Meeting Point, established by Lightbox in 2015, is a platform for international dialogue in contemporary art, fostering collaboration opportunities among artists, arts organisations, and the international arts community, and cultivating a wider public engagement in the arts.

Venice Meeting Point Biennale Opening Party in collaboration with Alserkal Initiatives, Lightbox and Cité internationale des arts. ‘When Solidarity is Not a Metaphor’ conceived with partner Alserkal Initiatives and curated by Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez, Arts and Culture Programme Manager at the Cité internationale des arts, ‘When Solidarity Is Not A Metaphor’ is an exhibition that spans installations, photographs, performances, listening sessions, and heart-to-heart conversations. It imagines solidarity as lived practice offering a counter-space to the reigning agendas of war, patriarchy, colonialism, and their toxic impacts on human and non-human ecosystems.

The Art Newspaper and X MUSE – Including a special in-conversation with art critics Louisa Buck and Ben Luke.

Celebration of Delfina Foundation Alumni and Biennale Artists – including an artistic performance and mediated talk with artists. Moe Satt (Myanmar, living and working in the Netherlands) is the artist who will be performing at the reception. He is a Delfina alumnus, and will be showing in The Spirits of Maritime Crossing, a collateral event presented by the Bangkok Art Biennale Foundation. He will be performing a piece originally conceived in 2013, ‘S-mile-S (2009/2024)’.

11.00 – 12.30 Art Thinking Tour – a bespoke tour of the Arsenale, curated by X MUSE Co-founder and Creative Director Vadim Grigoryan – departing from Venice Meeting Point.

17.00 – 20.30 Art Thinking Book Preview – presented by author and X MUSE co-founder Vadim Grigoryan and publisher Cultureshock who will preview Grigoryan’s forthcoming book, Art Thinking, which demonstrates how cultural agency and engagement with art, artists and the art world is essential for the success of luxury brands.

The 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled “Foreigners Everywhere” is inspired by a series of works from 2004 by Paris-born and Palermo-based collective Claire Fontaine. Neon sculptures in a spectrum of colours display the phrase: “Foreigners Everywhere” in multiple languages, stemming from the name of a Turin collective, Stranieri Ovunque, that fought racism and xenophobia in Italy in the early 2000s.

Adriano Pedrosa “The phrase Foreigners Everywhere has (at least) a dual meaning. Firstly, wherever you go and wherever you are you will always encounter foreigners—they/we are everywhere. Secondly, that no matter where you find yourself, you are always, truly, and deep down inside, a foreigner.

We will serve five signature cocktails in alignment with the biennale’s theme, as well as our X Muse Signature Martini.

40ml X MUSE Vodka
10ml Campari
20ml Homemade raspberry shrub*
40ml Cranberry juice
Shake and double strain in a clean tumbler with big 5x5 ice cube. Marjoram foam on top**

Inspired by the theme of the 60th Venice Art Biennale, ‘Foreigners Everywhere’.
Concept by Vadim Grigoryan
Mixology by Michele Gadaleta

The kingdom of plants provides interesting analogies when considering the notion of “strangers”. Plants that have been complete foreigners for hundreds of years are quickly considered natives.

‘STRANGERS IN SCOTLAND’ cocktail involves non-endemic ingredients that grow happily in Scotland but originally came from other parts of Britain and the world.

*Raspberry shrub: Raspberries 115g, Sugar 300g, Vinegar 50g, Oloroso sherry wine 30ml, Citric Acid + Malic Acid 1 spoon each (or 20ml lemon juice and 10ml lime juice). Procedure: Add all ingredients into a container, mix, leave overnight, then filter.

**For the foam: Fresh Marjoram 50g, Water 300ml, Lime juice 50ml, Simple syrup 1:1 ratio: 100ml, Xanthan Gum (or any thickening agent) 2.8g. Procedure: Bring 100ml of water to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat, immerse the marjoram, and immediately retrieve it. Then, put it in water and ice. In a container, combine all ingredients except the Xanthan Gum, blend, and filter. Once filtered, add the thickening agent, put everything into a siphon, add gas, and leave in the fridge for 2/4 hours.

40ml X MUSE Vodka
10ml Select bitter
20ml Lemon juice
20ml Blueberry/Combawa syrup*

Shaken and served in a Coupette glass
Lemon zest garnish

Inspired by Marcel Duchamp and the theme of the 60th Venice Art Biennale, ‘Foreigners Everywhere’
Concept by Vadim Grigoryan
Mixology by Sebastien Gans

40ml X MUSE Vodka
5ml Mandorla Nardini (Grappa)
20ml Banana water*
Stir and strain on Nick & Nora glass
Coffee foam on top**

Inspired by the theme of the 60th Venice Art Biennale, ‘Foreigners Everywhere’.
Concept by Vadim Grigoryan
Mixology by Andrea Costa

Taking on the intellectual challenge of the 60th Venice Biennale, X MUSE looks to British philosopher and sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, a forerunner in developing new social theories of strangerhood. In his seminal books ‘Work, Consumerism and the New Poor’ (1998) and ‘Globalization: The Human Consequences’ (1998) Bauman is concerned with the constitution and treatment of the Social and Cultural Other in the western societies.

Our ‘Xpresso Martini’ is a more refined version of a classic espresso martini – that which is more respectful of X MUSE vodka as a key ingredient, provoking dichotomic perception often experienced by “others” around us.

*BANANA WATER:
Fill a Thermomix with 1 kg of peeled bananas. Then add 2.5ml (0.5 tsp) of liquid Pectinex. Blend the ingredients on speed 4.5 at 55 degrees Celsius (130F) for around 7 minutes. Strain everything through a strainer lined with a tea towel or muslin. With a funnel pour the liquid into a bottle and store it in the fridge.

**COFFEE FOAM: Prepare 400ml of filter coffee and divided it into 2 carafes (300ml and 100ml). In the first (300ml at room temperature) add sugar and 0.5g of xanthan and blend with a hand blender. Then heat the 100 ml add 1.6g of methylcellulose and dissolve. Then quickly mix the two compounds with a bar spoon or a whisk and pour them into the syphon. Close, load NO2 and cool in the fridge or in crushed ice for half an hour.

50ml of X Muse Vodka infused Butterfly pea flower
10ml violet syrup
10ml honey syrup
60ml tonic on top
15ml lemon juice

Garnish: a spoon with 15ml of lemon
Glass: tumbler

Method: Build in glass

Inspired by: 'Inspired by the theme of the 60th Venice Art Biennale, 'Foreigners Everywhere'.
Concept by: Marcos Lutyens
Mixology by: Michele Gadaleta

The enigmatic world of "The Other Self" is an art performance in which Marcos Lutyens orchestrates an immersive odyssey through the fractured dimensions of consciousness. The audience braces itself as reality unravels and perception dissolves into the abyss of the unknown. The audience is invited to step beyond the threshold of ordinary existence into the expanse of the psyche, where familiar landmarks fade into obscurity. Through a hypnotic maelstrom of suggestion and sensory distortion, the boundaries between self and other blur into a swirling vortex of otherness. Under Lutyens' guidance, the audience traverses the labyrinthine corridors of their own minds, where time shifts and space contorts through inner landscapes. They peel back the layers of their psyche to embrace the kaleidoscopic complexity of their own existence.

As the performance unfolds, they surrender to the chaotic symphony of introspection and revelation. Navigating the fractured terrain of memory and archetype, they unravel the tangled threads of identity across a cacophony of discordant inner voices.

"The Other Self" is more than just an art experience—it's a disruptive exploration of the human psyche, challenging the very fabric of reality itself. The audience questions everything they thought they knew about the world and their place within it as they plunge headlong into the abyss of the unknown. In this descent into madness and revelation, where the boundaries between self and other dissolve into nothingness, the only truth that remains is the one they unearth within the depths of their own souls.

This cocktail captures the essence of "The Other Self" with its enigmatic blue hue and reflective flavours. The vodka serves as the base, as a vehicle into the depths of consciousness. The blue curaçao represents the inductive realms explored during the experience, while the lemon juice adds a zest, awakening the senses and inviting introspection. The blue colour corresponds to Lutyens’s understanding of the colour as one which corresponds to the internal, while the use of cordyceps symbolizes the relationship of ourselves to the ‘Alien Within’. The unexpected combination of flavours creates a harmonious balance, much like the intertwining facets of identity and perception explored in the performance. With its vibrant colour and refreshing taste, "Psyche's Potion" offers a glimpse into the kaleidoscopic mind, leaving a lasting impression long after the last sip.

40 ml of X Muse
10 ml of green chartreuse
1 dash of green absinthe
20 ml of lime juice
20 ml of dill syrup***

Garnish: Dill
Glassware: tumbler
Method: Built in the glass

*** Dill Syrup (for 600 ml)
3 Dill bunch
1000ml of water
300 gr of white caster sugar
Mix the dill in the water, filter with a milk bag, then add the sugar.

Method: Built in glass
Inspired by: 'Inspired by the theme of the 60th Venice Art Biennale, 'Foreigners Everywhere'.
Concept by: Vadim Grigoryan
Mixology by: Sebastien Gans

The starting point of the cocktail is the passage from the philosophy of Andy Wharhol, 1975. In this curious verbal meditation, the godfather of pop art builds a comparison between the world of business and the world of art. In contrast to the still prevailing opinion that art is more noble than business, Warhol unashamingly proclaims the equality of the two fields of human life: “making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art”. Andy Warhol was fascinated with dollar bills. It was a dollar bill that became his first screen print and his 200 One Dollar Bills painting was sold at Sotheby's in 2009 for a record $43.8 million (incredible example of a value creation).

Andy Warhol was fascinated with dollar bills. It was a dollar bill that became his first screen print and his 200 One Dollar Bills painting was sold at Sotheby's in 2009 for a record $43.8 million (incredible example of a value creation).

A greenback is a slang term for U.S. paper dollars. The term originated during the mid-1860s, when these notes were printed in green ink. Green was seen as a trustworthy colour, associated with stability. Ironically, money is also found at the heart of mistrust between people, when even friends could become foreigners. The cocktail is made of 5 greens reflecting the dollar bill green colour scheme - a mixture of art and business, doubt and trust, in a liquid refreshing form for deeper thinking.

50ml X Muse Vodka
10ml Noilly Prat dry
1ml Oli'Still
1 caper berry

Garnish: caper berry

Method: stir and fine strain and served in a nick and nora

*Mixology by: Sebastien Gans *

X Muse twist on this classic vodka based cocktail is simple yet timeless. A martini that, on the one hand, provides an impeccable method for tasting the essence of X Muse liquid whilst honouring its exceptional quality. Ideal for savouring on its own, or as a refined complement to the finest Scottish delicacies such as Orkney scallops, wild langoustines, smoked salmon, as well as caviar.